Hugh Howard’s new book, “Architects of an American Landscape,” sounds like it would be a work of serious scholarship. Published by Grove Atlantic, it is a work of serious scholarship. But it also felt like a paid vacation, traveling back to the horse and buggy days of the 19th century through the nation’s transformation into a fledgling world power. That was due, in no small part, to the development of the railroad.
When a stranger comes walking down your driveway during hunting season, experience suggests they’re about to request permission to hunt on your property. But this stranger wasn’t wearing Hunter Orange camouflage or toting a shotgun.