The Landscape of Man: Shaping the Environment from Prehistory to the Present Day - Hardcover

Jellicoe, Geoffrey; Jellicoe, Susan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0500028249 ISBN 13: 9780500028247

Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 2026

Synopsis

The seminal text on landscape architecture from prehistory until the present day, now in an updated edition and illustrated in full color.

Now available in a new, updated edition, The Landscape of Man is a formative study on the history of landscape architecture. From small gardens to megacities, humans have always molded their environment to express or symbolize ideas―­power, order, comfort, harmony, pleasure, and mystery, to name a few. In 1975, authors Geoffrey and Susan Jellicoe linked these ideas together to demonstrate that they are manifestations of a single, innate process.

The authors examined human-created spaces from ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, the Muslim world, medieval Europe, India, China, Japan, pre-­ Columbian America, and the post-Renaissance West in all its phases, as well as planning and landscape architecture from the mid-­ to late twentieth century.

With a new introduction and final chapter by internationally respected landscape critic Tim Richardson, this edition explores modernism to postmodernism, post-­industrialism to large-scale urban planning in China and elsewhere, before ending with small-­scale healing and community gardens.

Redesigned throughout with a contemporary look and feel, and illustrated in full color, this valuable resource to landscape architecture is made available to a new generation of readers interested in uncovering the history of our built environments.

600+ illustrations

About this title

About the Authors

Geoffrey Jellicoe (1900–­1996) was an English architect, town planner, landscape architect, garden designer, landscape and garden historian, lecturer, and author of numerous books. He was elected as a Royal Academician and awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH), the Royal Horticultural Society’s highest award, as well as a British Prix de Rome for Architecture.

Susan Jellicoe (1907–­1986) was a landscape artist, photographer, and author. Among her many books, she cowrote three with her husband, Geoffrey Jellicoe, including The Landscape of Man.

Tim Richardson is an internationally respected landscape critic, former editor at Wallpaper*, gardens editor at Country Life, and founding editor of New Eden magazine. His previous books include Avant Gardeners and The Arcadian Friends.

From the Back Cover

Humans have always shaped their surroundings, leaving architectural footprints in their wake. But what forms have these markers taken, and why? Angkor Wat sits differently from the temples of Kyoto, and the gardens of Versailles are a world away from Central Park. What can each tell us about the civilizations that created them, and vice versa?

To qualify as a "landscape of man," an environment must be deliberately shaped at a specific time. Taking twenty-eight "cultures," Geoffrey and Susan Jellicoe first dig into the social and intellectual background of each, then describe how this expressed itself in terms of landscape, with striking visuals, maps, and original plans to illustrate the discussion. The ground covered includes ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, the Middle East, medieval Europe, India, China, Japan, pre-Columbian America, and the post-Renaissance West in all its phases.

Complete with full-color photography throughout for the first time, The Landscape of Man has been revised and updated for the next generation of readers. A new introduction and final chapter by celebrated garden writer Tim Richardson take in modernism and postmodernism, postindustrial landscapes, large-scale urban planning in China and beyond, as well as community gardens and much more.

This edition is a must-have for those starting out in the worlds of architecture, design, or landscape design, or for anyone interested in environmental improvement in our challenging and ever-changing times.

From the Inside Flap

Humans have always shaped their surroundings, leaving architectural footprints in their wake. But what forms have these markers taken, and why? Angkor Wat sits differently from the temples of Kyoto, and the gardens of Versailles are a world away from Central Park. What can each tell us about the civilizations that created them, and vice versa?

To qualify as a "landscape of man," an environment must be deliberately shaped at a specific time. Taking twenty-eight "cultures," Geoffrey and Susan Jellicoe first dig into the social and intellectual background of each, then describe how this expressed itself in terms of landscape, with striking visuals, maps, and original plans to illustrate the discussion. The ground covered includes ancient Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, the Middle East, medieval Europe, India, China, Japan, pre-Columbian America, and the post-Renaissance West in all its phases.

Complete with full-color photography throughout for the first time, The Landscape of Man has been revised and updated for the next generation of readers. A new introduction and final chapter by celebrated garden writer Tim Richardson take in modernism and postmodernism, postindustrial landscapes, large-scale urban planning in China and beyond, as well as community gardens and much more.

This edition is a must-have for those starting out in the worlds of architecture, design, or landscape design, or for anyone interested in environmental improvement in our challenging and ever-changing times.

Edition details

• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0500028249
• ISBN 13: 9780500028247
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 440
• Editor: Richardson Tim