Crystal Palaces, American Garden Conservatories
This unique book presents the architectural and horticultural  history of a collection of public garden conservatories in the  United States. After an introduction to the purpose, background,  and infrastructure of conservatories, Cunningham, a freelance  writer for various garden and home publications, presents a  chronological tour of 25 examples of large public greenhouses.  The great era of Victorian glasshouses began in the late 1800s  with Golden Gate Park and lasted until the Great Depression of  the 1930s. It was not until the 1960s that environmentalism  spurred a resurgence in garden conservatory building, which  continues today. Although some of the 170 color images are not  sufficiently sharp, they do offer enticing views. The lack of  botanical and architectural specificity makes this volume more  popular than scholarly, but because it is one of the few texts  to address this building type, it will be a welcome addition to  large public and academic libraries. Jay Schafer, Univ. of  Massachusetts, AmherstCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.