Forest Park, by Caroline Loughlin and Catherine Anderson

This history of Forest Park came out in 1986, a project of the Junior League.  It chronicles the development of the park from the earliest days, when it was a forty minute carriage ride from downtown St. Louis, to 110 years later, when it was desperately in need of loving attention.  I read it because I am beginning to do some research for a little pamphlet for Forest Park Forever, an organization which has made such a spectacular contribution to the present enhanced state of “St. Louis’s Backyard.”  Obviously, the book is sorely in need of a sequel, but it gives an adequate overview of the politics, the people, and the development of one of my favorite places.  292 pp.