Paradeisos, the Art of the Garden - Hardcover

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

This book attempts to give an historical account of the garden as a paradise. It is arranged chronologically, with each chapter covering a stylistic or historical period, except for two covering Islamic and Japanese gardens. Unfortunately, the book never manages to go beyond a pastiche of facts and tangential anecdotes that do more to show off how much research the author has done than to impart understanding. The pictures are gorgeous, and one grasps from them the paradisical nature of the garden. If there were more of these beautiful photos, drawings, and plans, and less of Bazin's fractious, irrelevant, and shallow text, this would be a worthwhile book. As it stands, not recommended.
-Steven Hupp, Chicago
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.