The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History
Editorial Reviews
Review
'The invention of heritage is a fascinating story, and Lowenthal tells it with vigour, style and a Balzacian relish for detail ... His racy style keeps us constantly on the move.' Roger Scruton, The Times
'Timely and provocative ... brilliant and stimulating pyrotechnic.' Roy Strong, The Sunday Times
'A wealth of stories both true and amusing.' Grey Gowrie, The Daily Telegraph
Book Description
Heritage, while it often constitutes and defines the most positive aspects of culture, is a malleable body of historical text subject to interpretation and easily twisted into myth. When it is appealed to on a national or ethnic level in reactions against racial, religious, or economic oppression, the result is often highly-charged political contention or conflict. The extraordinary theme of this unique book is how the rise of a manifold, crusade-like obsession with tradition and inheritance--both physical and cultural--can lead to either good or evil. In a balanced account of the pros and cons of the rhetoric and spoils of heritage--on the one hand cultural identity and unity, on the other, potential holy war--David Lowenthal discusses the myriad uses and abuses of historical appropriation and offers a rare and accessible account of a concept at once familiar and fraught with complexity. David Lowenthal is Emeritus Professor of Geography at University College London, and the author of the bestselling The Past is a Foreign Country (Cambridge, 1985)
The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History,David Lowenthal,Cambridge University Press,0521635624,Europe - General,Historiography,History,History - General History,History: World,Philosophy,Philosophy Of History,Reference,Europe,European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland),History / Europe / General,History--Philosophy,USA
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