The Power of Scenery: Frederick Law Olmsted and the Origin of National Parks

by Dennis Drabelle

Featured in Wall Street Journal 's 2021 Holiday Gift Books Guide
2021 Marfield Prize Finalist 

Wallace Stegner called national parks “the best idea we ever had.” As Americans celebrate the 150th anniversary of Yellowstone, the world’s first national park, a question naturally where did the idea for a national park originate? The answer starts with a look at pre-Yellowstone America. With nothing to put up against Europe’s cultural pearls—its cathedrals, castles, and museums—Americans came to realize that their plentitude of natural wonders might compensate for the dearth of manmade attractions. That insight guided the great landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted as he organized his thoughts on how to manage the wilderness park centered on Yosemite Valley, a state-owned predecessor to the national park model of Yellowstone. Haunting those thoughts were the cluttered and carnival-like banks of Niagara Falls, which served as an oft-cited example of what should not happen to a spectacular natural phenomenon.

Olmsted saw city parks as vital to the pursuit of happiness and wanted them to be established for all to enjoy. When he wrote down his philosophy for managing Yosemite, a new and different kind of park, one that preserves a great natural site in the wilds, he had no idea that he was creating a visionary blueprint for national parks to come. Dennis Drabelle provides a history of the national park concept, adding to our understanding of American environmental thought and linking Olmsted with three of the country’s national treasures. Published in time to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Yellowstone National Park on March 1, 2022, and the 200th birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted on April 26, 2022, The Power of Scenery tells the fascinating story of how the national park movement arose, evolved, and has spread around the world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Nature, American History, Art, Travel, Environment

272 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2021

Reviews

[Catecrane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rambling read with interesting historical tidbits. The book jumps about in history making it difficult to follow at times. The upside is you can read chapters out of sequence. The subtitle should have omitted FLO to become "the origin of national parks."

[Natalie Herr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting topic, a bit of a boring execution.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am somewhat obsessed with Frederick Law Olmstead which led me to this book, The Power of Scenery: Frederick Law Olmstead and the Origins of The National Parks. I first learned of Olmstead when I did a tour a few years ago of my now-favorite park, Central Park in New York City. Olmstead designed, along with Calvert Vaux, the iconic park after winning a design competition in 1858.

Alas, The Power of Scenery is not so much about Olmstead as it is about the beginnings of the first National Parks in the United States—specifically Yellowstone, Yosemite and Niagara Falls State Park (originally titled the Niagara Reservation). Granted, it is still a fascinating book and the author does highlight Olmsted’s influence in all three park’s development, while also detailing (quite well) the many actors (politicians, artists, businessmen, environmentalists) who played a role.

There are some (unintentional) humorous passages too. My favorite are those describing two men who each claimed several acres of land within the yet-to-be Yosemite Park; one, arguably the first ‘booster’ of the park, James Hutchings, who claimed 160 acres as is own. He led tours of Yosemite, and thought of himself as ‘Mr Yosemite’. Eventually the state of California bought him out and banned him from the park for his annoying interference. The second, James Leman, somewhat more passive, simply built a cabin and planted an orchard. He too was ousted.

One of the concluding chapters, The Olmsteads, highlights the contributions to the international national park movement of Frederick Olmstead Sr and his son Frederick Olmstead Jr. Junior followed in his father's footsteps, working in his father’s landscape architect firm. He also left his mark by drafting a portion of the law that guided (and still does) the National Parks (below).

“The service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks…as to conform to the fundamental purpose of the said parks, monuments, and reservations, which is to conserve scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of the future generations” (p 202).

Olmstead junior’s paragraph was similar to a passage his father wrote in the Yosemite report of 1865. The Olmsteads’ legacy continues today as our parks continue to find a balance between conservation and enjoyment by the public.

[Yaaresse · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5, rounding up.

It's not a bad book, but it tends to want to take long walks on the way to its points. I think the author couldn't decide if he wanted to write a biography or a history of the National Parks, so he tried to do both at the same time and just got lost.

[Elena Santangelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is specifically related to Olmsted's role in forming the National Parks, so if you're reading it to hear about Central Park or his other landscape designs, you're going to be disappointed. Luckily, I was more interested in the National Parks aspect. I knew quite a lot of about their origins already so I wasn't sure I'd learn anything new, but there were lots of details I was unfamiliar with, like Ferdinand Hayden's work. The book jumps around in time and geography quite a bit and is sometimes a little hard to follow, but I enjoyed it very much.

[no elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

it takes skill to weave historical & biographical facts into a narrative thats interesting to read, and this is a skill the author seemingly does not possess... lotsa lil tidbits n morsels of info to slog thru tho!

[AJ Freno · Rating 2 out of 5]

i finally did it!!! i quit nonfiction now!!!

[Carole at From My Carolina Home · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing and boring. It was billed as a history of FLOs involvement, but fully half the book wasn't about him at all, but other people involved in the creation of national parks. Overly detailed in some areas (like a guy who got separated from his exploring group and spent a winter alone) yet woefully inadequate in others (like the mess made of Niagra Falls and its clean up), it misses the mark on many levels. I was very interested in his part in the creation of Pisgah Forest and the work at the Biltmore estate, but this was only given two pages near the end of the book. The writing is a dry recitation of facts, boring and a chore to slog through. There must be better written histories of both the naturalist and our national treasures. Don't waste your time with this one.

[Jessica Edmondson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful nonfiction for the nature/public lands lover. It tells the chronological story of how national public lands came to exist in the US (it was not as simple as you make think). A few specific people recognized the need to get away from the city, and relax outside, but no such land was set aside for this. They stayed determined, and slowly convinced state and federal governments that there were places in the US worth protecting.

[Ray Metz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like learning new bits of history. This book provides that. Expanding on what I knew about Frederick Olmsted and on the beginnings of our National Parks was an enjoyable read.

Well written with both a vocabulary that required I look up definitions now and then but also some light heartened references to today - sometimes attributable to the author’s sense of humor and sometimes a nod to to Erik Larson.

Random things that caught my attention…

- the number of people that took walks and had picnics in cemeteries before there were many parks
- the early push to include having Indians living in the parks as a part of preserving
- the trashing of Niagara Falls area with businesses etc
- expeditions out west and reports back to newspapers for years were early “influencers” that shaped how the country felt
- OKee-pa (I’d read about this before but still hard to really understand)
- early parks easier to create when you could sell the idea by saying the land was worthless…
- the military ran the national parks for 30 years and some good things came from that.
- I don’t know why I’m still surprised that famous people aren’t just the small amount I know about them and yet I am. Olmsted had a broad set of experiences beyond being a landscape architect.

“He could imagine it and rhapsodize about it but couldn’t work it up into the 19th century equivalent of a PowerPoint presentation.”

“Five centuries later, Henry Thoreau, a Harvard graduate, sometime pencil maker, and protégé of Emerson made a habit of scrutinizing landscapes with a Petrarchan intensity.”

[Elizabeth Norris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I rarely don’t finish a book. After around 90 pages of slogging through sidebars and minutiae, I give up.
Frederick Law Olmstead is a personal hero of mine. I was excited to read about him and his activities in the preservation of national parks.
However, there’s just too much in the way, unless you enjoy very minor details, like his friend who runs a newspaper in western Massachusetts and is criticized by Emily Dickinson. That’s where I’d had enough.
There’s so much I’d like to know about Olmsted, but this book is written by one of those authors who feels he has to impart every iota of information he has learned. I’ve never enjoyed this. I find myself losing my place and often having to reread for context. If that happens too frequently, it’s time to put the book down.
I do have to say, my favorite thing about this book is how the protective sleeve feels.

[Ben Paulson · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is lots of good stuff here, but I never found the thread of things while going through the book. Too much moving around in terms of time lines to really appreciate the full path and culmination of Olmstead's work I would also say that while Olmstead is the main character, this didn't really read as a book fully focused on him as the title might imply.

One of my main takeaways is that even things that seem to be a no-brainer great idea are often messy in terms of their starts and early years.

[Christine Somers · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the title, the potential reader might believe the book is about Frederick Law Olmsted but the Power of Scenery is about the evolution of thought and philosophy that created parks in the USA and ultimately the world. Olmsted was one of the first or maybe the first to articulate the need for green space and natural space protection in the US but Dennis Drabelle catalogs those who developed and implemented law based on Olmsted's eloquent and passionate statement about the need for people to have access to the natural world and the need to protect it for the future.

[Jake Powers · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book at its core was entertaining and educational, but there was an undertone of what I believe is disdain from the author towards the men of the 19th century. Some of it just and some of it not. It made it more difficult to enjoy and trust the authors analysis, when it seemed like he was more interested in judging historical figures through his own lens.
If your interested in National Parks and their history I’d recommend a different read, if you want the nitty gritty politics of reports on the national parks passed through the author’s analysis then give it a go.

[Yenta Knows · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quit on page 162/203.

This wasn’t the book I was expecting. I expected thoughts and history on how scenery affects individuals and societies.

I got WAY too much detail about Olmstead’s life and that of his friends.

So when the library told me it was overdue, I returned it without regret.

The author presented a well organized narrative. He writes nicely structured sentences. But this was like pointing to the “pasta primavera” on the menu and being served a burger with fries.

[Ray Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

As this history of some of the greatest natural wonders in the U.S. shows, preservation of nature through parks is an essential function of the federal government. Despite the title, FLO is just one of the heroes, sometimes accidental, who persuaded the government and the populace to protect some of our land to help us stay connected to the earth (It nearly didn't happen!).

[Stan · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a history of National parks, with Olmsted as a catalyst for creating them. The focus starts with Niagara Falls and how it was initially treated, then moving to Yosemite & Yellowstone. Finally back to Niagara and better management.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

A list of different people with influence in the cause.

Some parts I value
pg 88
"In 1903...President Theo Roosevelt gazed out over the Grand Canyon and implored his audience to "leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it." Almost 40 years earlier, Olmst4ead had reached the same conclusion about Yosemite and, by extension, every American national park to follow."

In the last chapter Aldo Leopold was mentioned.
I would almost like a chronological list of the players (there are a lot, and some leave and return) with a brief annotation.

Overall interesting - Sublime came up a lot.

I'm always surprised when 2 or more books on some topics are published near the same time (partly based on the NEW label on the library books). "Saving Yellowstone" may also be an interesting peruse or scan. It's time focus is Reconstruction America. In a fast look at the index, it was interesting to that some of the names are the same, some absent.

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good topic but little dry for my tastes.

[Lexi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was hard for me to finish because the writing was so boring and hard to follow. The narrative jumps around a LOT and it felt like a conglomeration of facts without enough connective tissue. Random historical figures were in and out, odd clips of quotes were shoved in the middle of sentences, and the last third of the book wasn’t even about Olmsted.

[Karen Rooff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a fan of both Frederick Law Olmsted and the National Park System. Even so, this book was rambling and dry.

[Peggy Fecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow read, lots of rabbit holes but so glad I stuck with it. So worthwhile.

[Corey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Or, "How to Make Beautiful Things Boring"

[Isaac Fullmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for a history assignment I liked it but at times was hard to follow.

[Robert Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interest subject, but not the most enjoyable read. I loved learning about the history of the national park system and the role of Frederick Law Olmstead. Educational, not gripping.

[Emmett Cooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dry, disappointing for someone who loved Olmsted

[Morgan Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the book and was fascinated by the story. It was hard to keep my attention though

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book but the writing was unnecessarily dense. The were so many names I couldn’t keep track and very little actually about Olmsted. I DNF at 75%