Ethan Carr is a landscape architect and is currently working for the National Park Service. He has taught landscape architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and the University of Virginia School of Architecture.

"Handsomely produced . . . Carr underscores the significance and enduring power of the landscape park model."—Environmental History "This intelligently crafted book demonstrates that during the 1920s and 30s landscape architects used planning as an effective means of protecting wilderness from the effects of automobile tourism. . . . Highly recommended."—Choice "From the creation of Central Park in 1858 to the bison, wolf, and fire controversies of today, conservationists have been under constant scrutiny for the way that public lands are managed. . . . [Carr] speaks with eloquence and pride about the ongoing struggle to preserve the back countries."—Mystic Montana