The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History [Paperback]

David Lowenthal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0521635624 | ISBN-13: 978-0521635622

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)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Brave, piquant and impressively broad-ranging." Linda Colley, Times Literary Supplement

"Must reading for public historians." James M. Lindgren, The Public Historian

"The Heritage Crusade and The Past Is a Foreign Country together provide the intellectual underpinning and wider context that any understanding of preservation as meaning and direction requires." Robert Wilson, Preservation (US National Trust)

"...[Lowenthal] is an alert and indefatigable snapper-up of unconsidered trifles. Cheerfully jaundiced, exuberantly glum, he shuffles a kaleidoscope of quotation and comment on every aspect of the heritage phenomenon: books, magazines, newspapers, jokes, anecdotes, and personal experience." Richard Jenkyns, New York Review of Books

"...a major literary achievement....Eschewing model-building for the well-chosen example and literature for social science, Lowenthal has crafted a book that will excite readers of the New York Review of Books as well as those of the Annals...Geographers, no less than historians, ignore it at their peril." Steven Hoelscher, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 1997

"Timely and provocative...brilliant and stimulating pyrotechnic...everything from the Pilgrim Fathers to the Inuits, from Homer's Greece to the rainforests of Brazil...Such an all-embracing approach is commendable and reveals a polymathic mind." Roy Strong, The Sunday Times

"David Lowenthal knows more about the uses and abuses of the past than anyone I know of...The book is filled with fascinating examples of claims and counterclaims made in the name of heritage...There is much in Lowenthal's account that is entertaining, even downright comical. But the author's message is deeply serious, for he warns us that a faith in heritage can produce murderous fanaticism." John R. Gillis, Reviews in American History

"The best book I have read on historic preservation, by the way, is The heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History, by David Lowenthal..." WoodenBoat

"The many writings of David Lowenthal have been helpful to those anxious to sort out the legitimate from the spurious in the twentieth century western preoccupations with organized history and heritage...In publishing ^The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History, Mr. Lowenthal has taken us further down this road and on this excursion he takes time to guide us along several interesting and unexpected detours." Manitoba History, Graham MacDonald, Calgary, Alberta

Book Description

Heritage has burgeoned over the past quarter of a century from a small élite preoccupation into a major popular crusade. Everything from Disneyland to the Holocaust Museum, from the Balkan wars to the Northern Irish Troubles, from Elvis memorabilia to the Elgin Marbles bears the marks of the cult of heritage. In this acclaimed book David Lowenthal explains the rise of this new obsession with the past and examines its power for both good and evil.'Timely and provocative...brilliant and stimulating pyrotechnic...everything from the Pilgrim Fathers to the Inuits, from Homer's Greece to the rainforests of Brazil.' Roy Strong, The Sunday Times'...entertaining and enthralling...' Ben Pimlott, The Guardian

Product Details

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521635624
• ISBN-13: 978-0521635622
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #464,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > History > Historical Study > Philosophy of History

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heritage and History-Friends or Foes?, March 10, 2000

By 

Kaneeta Naidu (Durban, South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History (Paperback)

Historian David Lowenthal, author of The Heritage Crusade and Spoils of History, has managed to provide both an engrossing account on the relationship between history and heritage and an entertaining piece of literary work. The book comprises of 10 chapters, each one dealing with the evolution that heritage has experienced aswell as the contribution it makes to our lives. After reading this book one comes away with a greater understanding and appreciation for our own inherited events and objects. His use of very relevant and at the same time very interesting examples, ranging from Greek mythology to America's Disney World, allows readers to bring to life the whole concept of heritage and history. I have to admit that prior to reading this book I had the naieve notion (though common one)that heritage equated to history. However Lowenthal was able to dispel this belief by providing vivid accounts on why these two elements are so different yet inextricably intertwined. This he does by highlighting the differences in the approach of biasness by both heritage and history and also the quest for truth and objectivity.Ultimately Lowenthal shows how both history and heritage work in contemporary society and how they compliment each other. His humour, knowledge on the subject and his style of writing makes this book trully a must read for all historians and potential historians too, infact anyone interested on the topic. Enjoy Reading!

3 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Why this book sucks...., October 1, 2001

By 

Eric A. Kugler (Corvallis OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History (Paperback)

This book is horribly written, poorly constructed, and really fails to argue a cohesive point. It bounces around from anecdote to story, and if anything, proves the use of history, and condemns heritage.

I disagree with the author's premise, but he doesn't provide any substance to defend his opinion.

If I could rate this book any lower, I would.