Chicago Botanic Garden

Education — Lenhardt Library

Current Books & Book Reviews

PHOTO: bookcover

Nadine Olonetsky.
Sensations: A Time Travel Through Garden History.
Boston: Birkhäuser, 2007.
decorated cloth, 127 pp., ISBN 3–764–37623–6, $40.00.

In this account of the history of European garden culture, Swiss author Nadine Olonetsky describes the development of gardening from a European perspective. Her scholarly chronicle takes a refreshing look at garden precedents from ancient to contemporary times. Though the book is small in size, its content is extensive, with commentaries ranging from the beginnings of gardening to today’s notable landscapes. Regretfully, the intriguing visual images that illustrate the work are often too small for the reader to decipher.

— Marilyn K. Alaimo, garden writer and volunteer, Chicago Botanic Garden.