The Rothschilds, famed for nearly two centuries as financiers, have also been a family of passionate gardeners. With humor and insight, noted naturalist Miriam Rothschild, granddaughter of the first Lord Rothschild, leads a gloriously illustrated tour of he family's fabulous public and private gardens and parklands, as they once were and as they are today.Readers can marvel at outstanding formal gardens, majestic vistas, rambling woodlands, and elaborate topiaries in England, France, Switzerland, and Israel. As clearly seen in the stunning photographs, most of the gardens were created on an extravagant scale that is scarcely imaginable today.Archival pictures of the gardens and the characters involved accompany Miriam Rothschild's intimate, entertaining look at the competitiveness and drive for perfection that has typified her family's behavior in gardening, as well as in business.