A Modern Arcadia, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.and the Plan for Forest Hills Gardens
Susan L. Klaus, University of Massachusetts Press (Amherst & Boston), in association with Library of American Landscape History (Amherst: 2002).

The remarkable story of Forest Hills Gardens is the fortuitous combination of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. and architect Grosvenor Atterbury, brought together by Robert W. DeForest, who had worked with each on other projects. Olmsted was an early proponent of the emerging discipline of city planning, itself a by product of the City Beautiful Movement. Atterbury, more than just a society architect, was also engaged in new ways of designing housing for the middle class in other locales. What is so unusual about their collaboration is the attention paid to every phase of the project. From design to building and landscaping, to deed restrictions and marketing, no detail was too small for their attention. Each seemed to inspire the other to greater creativity. The project, undertaken by the Russell Sage Foundation, was to provide middle-class housing for commuters as an alternative to city living at a time when cities were the focus of rapid immigration and, as a result, offered diminishing options for the middle-class. A success from its inception, the significance of Forest Hills Gardens is both its pioneering experiment in applying professional planning principles to a suburban setting, as well its longevity as an ideal residential enclave in the midst of urban change. The first full length book to deal with the subject, the author sets this important milestone in American suburban planning and design within the context of the social, economic and cultural forces which led to its creation. The book is elaborately illustrated with period photographs, plans and documents. Available at the Gallery, Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, 1 Shore Road, Cold Spring Harbor. Price is $39.95.

Discovering Sands Point: Its History, Its People,Its Places
Joan Gay Kent, published by the Incorporated Village of Sands Point (Sands Point: 2000)

This comprehensive history tells of the people and events that shaped the development of Sands Point. Covering more than 300 years, with 240 pages and over 300 photos and illustrations, it includes historical maps and a useful bibliography. The author has used both primary sources and interviews with a number of long time residents and community leaders. The author was a resident of Sands Point for many years and is North Hempstead’s Town Historian as well as President of the Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society. Copies can be purchased in person or by mail from the Dolphin Bookshop, 941 Port Washington Blvd. Port Washington. Copies are also available from the Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society, Museum Shop, 336 Port Washington Blvd, Port Washington, and the gift shops in the Sands Point Park and Preserve, Old Bethpage Village Restoration and other county museums. Price is 35.00 plus shipping and tax.

Hamptons Bohemia,Two Centuries of Artists and Writers on the Beach
Helen A. Harrison & Constance Ayers Denne, Chronicle Books, (San Francisco: 2002)

The South Fork of Long Island has always attracted artists and writers, both because of its proximity to New York as well as its splendor of scenic and natural resources. This recent book offers, in its multifaceted approach, a history of this place of artistic ferment and its cultural underpinnings, selections of the many art works inspired by its geography throughout the last 300 plus years, biographies of important authors and artists, and photographs, personal anecdotes, and other personal memorabilia documenting the daily activities and social life of its resident artists and writers. Selections of poetry and art are seamlessly woven into the narrative. Available at the Gallery, Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, 1 Shore Road, Cold Spring Harbor. Price is $40.00.