Jackson, John Brinckerhoff. Discovering the Vernacular Landscape. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1984.
The author's main purpose is to familiarize the readers with the American landscape and celebrate its complexity and beauty. The legitimacy of this goal rests on the assumption that landscapes can teach about American history, society, and the people and their relationship to the world. It leads us to Jackson's other major conviction, a belief that humans are part of the landscape and indeed, human presence is the beauty itself, and this beauty can only be discovered by first-hand experience of the physical landscape itself. Jackson offers ample criticism of the academy for having recognized only the well-documented landscapes; he articulates the need for a new area of study devoted entirely to exploring and interpreting cultural landscapes. This unique volume is an informal presentation not written exclusively for academics, but for the American citizens who share this landscape. [S. Vegh]