Between Fences

Looked over but often overlooked, fences have played an essential role in the American building tradition from the time of colonization. Skirting the nation's private and public spaces, they define our borders and boundaries while playing an integral part in the visual environment. Thousands of types of fences have been created, and millions of miles of fencing have been constructed across the American landscape. Lavishly illustrated, between fences assembles a distinguished group of architects, theorists, and historians who address this fundamental yet neglected aspect of our built environment. Together, they examine how fences reflect the way Americans think about their land and how they relate to those who share it with them. Included are provocative essays by Diana Balmori on landscape and the hedge, Philip Dole on the American home and the picket fence, Gregory K. Dreicer on the ubiquitous chain-link fence, Gary Kulik on the worm fence, John Brinkerhof Jackson on barbed wire fences, Anne M. Lange on Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall," and Anne Stillman on fences and the settlement of New England.