Quiet Beauty: The Japanese Gardens of North America by Kendall H Brown

• The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
• Nitobe Memorial Garden at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver
• The Japanese Garden in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden
• The Garden of the Pine Winds in the Denver Botanic Gardena
• The Japanese Garden in the Montreal Botanical Garden
• Tenshin'en (The Garden of the Heart of Heaven) in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, Florida
• The Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix in Margaret T. Hance Park
• The Garden of the Pine Wind, Garvan Woodland Garden in Hot Springs, Arkansas

Kendall H. Brown is Professor of Asian Art History in the Art Department at California State University Long Beach. He also recently served as Curator of Collections, Exhibitions and Programs at Pacific Asia Museum. He received BA and MA degrees in history and art history from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in art history from Yale University. Dr. Brown publishes actively in several areas of Japanese art. He is a leading figure in the study of Japanese gardens in North America, having authored the book, Japanese-style Gardens of the Pacific West Coast.

David M. Cobb is a member of NANPA (North American Nature Photography Association) and PPA (Professional Photographers of America). He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Review Quotes:

"Just flipping through the pages of Quiet Beauty: The Japanese Gardens of North America will instantly lower your blood pressure. And while you may not be able to replicate the teahouses and moon bridges in David M. Cobb's elegant photographs, there are plenty of details to be borrowed for even the smallest gardens: a simple bamboo fence, a perfectly sited stone lantern, a rough pebbled path that gently curves to create heightened suspense about what lies beyond. " -- The New York Times Book Review

"It's clear that the more one knows about Japanese style gardens--history, design principles, symbolism--the more enriching a visit will be" -- Los Angeles Times

"By the end of this well-written and beautifully photographed book we realize that, far from being lost in transplantation, Japanese garden aesthetics and principals have been re-codified and adapted to create energizing, transformative works." -- Stephen Mansfield for The Japan Times

"In this lavishly illustrated book, art historian Brown and photographer Cobb act as tour guides to 26 such gardens...that are accessible, historically significant, and compelling physical spaces." -- Publishers Weekly

"This compilation of images by photographer David M. Cobb, and information on the most beautiful and serene gardens in the United States and Canada features gardens from Seattle, Bainbridge Island and Spokane." -- Seattle Times

"With an introduction titled "Places to Dream," Kendall H. Brown extols the serenity of Japanese gardens, lauding their soothing environments in a world of "the cacophony of cities (and) the anonymity of suburbs." ... The gardens, [Brown] says, can nurture, educate and stimulate creativity, and Quiet Beauty can do the same." -- The Oregonian