The other day I was thinking about how many books I have devoted to specific projects – case studies, in other words. I have a lot, but surprisingly I have four of them on one project: the High Line. The first one I bought on the phenomenally successful project on Manhattan's West Side predates the elevated railway's transformation into a park by seven years. Reclaiming the High Line was a three-year study (1999-2002) by New York's Design Trust for Public Space, in which the non-profit "conducted a comprehensive feasibility study and outlined recommendations for the reuse of the elevated railway as public open space." The book presents a history of what is now known as the High Line, depicts its existing conditions, makes recommendations for reuse, and evaluates the different options. The book that came out of the study predates the design competition for the park, so it's Joel Sternfeld's photos (such as the one on the cover) that anchor the text, not the renderings by Field Operations, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Piet Oudolf that became the symbol of the park in the coming years. Although the book, practical as it needs to be, is a bit dry at times, I find it extremely helpful for the walking tours of the High Line that I give a few times a year. It's also valuable to be able to look back to a time when the elevated park was easy to imagine — but hardly a guarantee. ( )