Within New York City, Central Park is a world unto itself, and here Elizabeth Barlow Rogers recounts its design and construction as a scenic masterpiece, then details the alterations of each succeeding era, from the addition of numerous facilities for sports and play through the "anything goes" phase of the 1960s and 70s, which nearly destroyed the park. Rogers also tells her own tale, as she progressed from being a housewife with a master's degree in city planning through her founding of the Central Park Conservancy—transforming both herself and Manhattan's bucolic oasis.

"The inspiring story of how one woman, in the face of considerable resistance, created a partnership to privately augment the funding and management of Manhattan's beloved park."—NYTBR