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Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Invention of the Park: Recreational Landscapes from the Garden of Eden to Disney's Magic Kingdom

The Invention of the Park: Recreational Landscapes from the Garden of Eden to Disney's Magic Kingdom

Hardcover

Travel GeneralGeneral European HistoryGeneral United States History

ISBN10: 074563138X
ISBN13: 9780745631387
Publisher: Polity Pr
Published: Jul 11 2005
Pages: 248
Weight: 1.16
Height: 0.86 Width: 6.06 Depth: 9.30
Language: English

The word 'park' conjures a kaleidoscope of bucolic images. Childhood frolics in urban playgrounds. Strolls through the country estates of Stourhead and Versailles. Wilderness adventures in the Serengeti. White-knuckle thrill rides at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Coney Island. The Invention of the Park explores our fascination with making parks. In a broad-ranging environmental and social history, authors Karen Jones and John Wills search for a common set of ideas that inform park design. From Greek philosophers wandering sacred groves in the ancient world to today's kids watching Mickey Mouse in Disney's Magic Kingdom, the park has inspired and thrilled in equal measure. In a work spanning all five continents and several thousand years, Jones and Wills chart the evolution of the park idea. They ponder the intersection of the green pleasure ground with notions of democracy and freedom, welfare and consumption, conservation and nature. They forward the principle of a universal park idea malleable enough to survive war and revolution.

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