ISSN: 1743-873X (Print) 1747-6631 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.

com/loi/rjht20

Book Reviews

To cite this article: (2007) Book Reviews, , 2:2, 120-130, DOI: 10.2167/jht022.0

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.2167/jht022.0

Published online: 22 Dec 2008.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 49

View related articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rjht20
Book Reviews
From Tourist Attractions to Heritage Tourism
Pat Yale. Huntingdon: Elm Publications, 3rd edn, 2004. Pp. 378. ISBN
0185450-434-7 (student edition): £19.95.

This book is all about making tourism an experience as well as an interesting

and interactive form of education for the visitor, be they nationals or trans-
boundary visitors. There was a time when the cultural and historical attrac-
tions of tourism destinations were more incidental than primary objectives for
travel. Looking at the development of this activity through the years, there was
a time during the period of the ‘grand tourist’ when the twin aspects of educa-
tion and culture formed an important part of the visitor’s itinerary. This con-
tinued throughout the pre-war years. The cost and ease of travel was not within
the reach of most people, who preferred to take holidays at home rather than
abroad. After the war, with improved social policy and the growth of general
knowledge through the media and publications, there was a greater demand
by most people to travel further afield and to see for themselves what these
destinations had to offer. The post-war years also saw an improvement in air
travel and budget holidays thanks to the pioneers such as Freddie Laker and
Lord Thomson.
Over the past 50 years, however, we may have lost sight of the real purpose
for tourism. Was this simply an excuse to let our hair down and act frivolously,
or could culture and education still play an important part in this socio-­economic
activity? Turning again to this book, we have before us a very detailed study of
the strategies and policies which most attractions now adopt to win back the
visitor who may have forgotten his or her own heritage. It is important to
remember that before one can expect to attract foreign visitors to any heritage
site, one needs to have a very good grasp about ones own product. It was
­interesting to read, for example, how in 2002 the London Eye topped the visitor
attraction list in the UK, while a well-known historical site such as Canterbury
Cathedral came in tenth place. Again, from the list of those attractions which
offer free entry, Blackpool Pleasure Beach took a much more dominant position
in comparison to York Minster. Those in charge of developing innovative
­management strategies and policies for visitor sites today must first look at how
these can be made user friendly, interactive and interesting, while still main-
taining the site’s special character and historical aspects. The question of fund-
ing is always one that can be a cause of complaint by consumers because of the
perceived and actual value that the site actually has to offer each visitor. There
are a number of ways by which attractions can increase their funding apart
from a review of the entrance fees. I disagree, however, that there should be a
drastic reduction in entrance fees in an attempt to lure more visitors. This policy

120
Book Reviews 121

could have an adverse effect since it may affect the way in which visitors appre-
ciate the educational and cultural aspects of the visitor attraction experience.
Product development should be based on creating a diverse and interesting
experience for visitors. These themes should naturally relate well to the local
perception of heritage, including history, traditions and particular legends or
stories. There are various forms of attractions, other than museums and places
of interest, and this book mentions a number of these such as wildlife attrac-
tions, events and the arts. It is rather ironic that in today’s global village one of
the only ways we can experience nature and wildlife is in reserves or protected
areas. However, the modern approach to these areas is no longer in favour
of caged animals but of a more friendly approach which prefers creating an
environment and experience that is closer to the natural habitat than a theatrical
setting. The idea of a hands-on and interactive approach also attracts younger
visitors as well as families. The arts include not only displays of paintings but
also theatre, crafts and the cinema. These provide an added bonus for those
­visitors whose interest includes culture, although the perception of the theatre
in cities such as London has today taken on a more informal and casual approach.
Preserving works of art as part of national and international heritage can
­provide a genuine reason for visiting these centres. The media has played an
important part in highlighting these places of interest and creating a sense of
curiosity among people.
Traditional as well as sporting and cultural activities and events have found
a place on the tourist’s itinerary, primarily as a means of learning about a coun-
try’s way of life as well as integrating cultures. However, events can also be
attractive to sporting or music enthusiasts who tend to plan their holidays
abroad according to the calendar of events featuring their favourite football
teams, racing car drivers or pop or classical groups.
The book has attempted to outline the principal forms of attractions that
enhance the tourist experience. Every destination or country needs to enhance
its own unique selling proposition when determining the product that will be
offered to visitors. The importance of this distinctiveness will avoid stereotyping­
tourism experiences such as has happened with the sun-and-sea concept in so
many Mediterranean destinations. The book has, in my opinion, achieved
its primary goal of creating an awareness of the relationship between niche
markets such as culture, history, sports, music and the arts, and tourism. This
is, after all, the principal concern for any national economy in generating
­foreign-currency contribution. At the same time, the book should be seen as
another study of the diversification of the tourism product; a product that needs
to change according to consumer trends and competition.

Julian C. Zarb
Toursim Journalist and Media Presenter
(welcomejuliette@hotmail.com)
122 Journal of Heritage Tourism

Managing World Heritage Sites

Anna Leask and Alan Fyall (eds). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2006.
Pp. 294 + xxv. ISBN-10: 0-7506-6546-7 (pbk): £27.99.

Coming into force in 1976 after its 1972 approval by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the ‘Convention
concerning the Protection of the World’s Cultural and Natural Heritage’ has
since been ratified by 180 States Parties across the globe. The purpose of the
Convention is to identify, protect, conserve, present and transmit to future gen-
erations World Heritage Sites (WHSs) of cultural and/or natural heritage of
outstanding value. The World Heritage Committee (WHC) undertakes an
inscription process whereby experts use a set of specified criteria to evaluate
proposed sites: ‘The aim is to encourage conservation of the resources within
the designated sites and surrounding buffer zones on a local level and also to
foster a sense of collective global responsibility via international cooperation,
exchange and support. Once designated, the State Party accepts responsibility
for the effective management of the site and commits to adopting the
‘Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage
Convention’ and the systems of reactive and periodic reporting set in place
by UNESCO. If it fails to do this effectively then the threat of removal from
the WHL (World Heritage List) is present, though it has not, to date, been
­exercised’ (p. 7).
At the time of writing of this book (in 2005), there were 812 sites on the WHL,
with 628 cultural, 160 natural and 24 mixed (i.e. of both cultural and natural
value) WHSs, representing 137 State Parties. The case study chapters in this
book illustrate the range of WHSs: Stonehenge, UK; Machupicchu, Peru; Lijang,
China; the Cultural Avenue project, Budapest, Hungary; Jiuzhaigou National
Nature Reserve, China; Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), China; Megalithic
Temples, Malta; and the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves, Australia. Many
WHSs are discussed in other chapters, thus providing the reader with a clear
view of the broad geographic distribution of the sites and their varied nature in
terms of cultural and/or natural value, size, individualised needs and degree of
protection. In terms of the latter two points, a major theme of the book is that
many WHSs are under threat from tourism which is ‘often seen as a necessary
evil and is not often universally welcomed’ (p. xxiii). As a result, the ‘aim of this
book is to combine the issues raised via the academic debate and research, with
the more practical and applied results from individual properties and those
involved in their management’ (p. xxiv). The intended audience includes
­students, academics and practitioners.
The book is organised into five sections. The first provides two introductory
chapters on WHS designation and implementation of the WHC after listing.
The focus of the second section is management, including the topics of
­stakeholders and community participation, marketing, destination manage-
ment and visitor management. Generating and managing revenue is covered in
the third section, with coverage of tourism, festivals and events, and informa-
tion communication technology. Strategy and policy and the future market for
Book Reviews 123

WHSs are the two topics in the next section. The case studies noted above, plus
a chapter on WHSs in the Americas, are contained in the final section.
In a final ‘Conclusions’ section, the editors argue that the traditional concern
in managing WHSs – balancing conservation and tourism – are changing, noting
that ‘the entire process is becoming more political, with motivations for nation
building, national identity and an eagerness to tap into the economic benefits to
be derived from tourism at sites’ (p. 285). As a result, they present a list of nine
issues – from the importance of tourism planning to international co-operation –
that should be the focus of future research.
The reader familiar with the tourism literature will recognise the names of
many of the chapter authors, but it is important to note that many of the other
authors are well grounded in the practical and applied issues related to the
management of WHSs, resulting an exemplary mix of academic and practi-
tioner perspectives on a very complex subject.
Does this book achieve its aim? In a word, yes. Should it be of use and interest
to its intended audience? Again, yes. Quite simply, it is an excellent book: well-
written, well-presented, and well-documented. Unlike many edited books
which seem to be vaguely organised collections of disparate works, this book
has structure and flow such that it is very readable and coherent. It would make
an outstanding addition to undergraduate and graduate courses in tourism, to
the personal libraries of academics and practitioners, and to research libraries.
As the editors note, there have been several special editions of journals that
have focused on WHSs and some other publications including guides to man-
aging WHSs; however, there is no other book that takes such a comprehensive
look at WHSs in terms of both academic and practical issues.

Paul F. Wilkinson
York University, Canada
(eswilkin@yorku.ca)

Marketing Heritage: Archaeology and the Consumption of the Past

Yorke Rowan and Uzi Baram (eds). Lanham, MD: Altamira Press, 2004.
Pp. 315. ISBN 0-7591-0342-9 (pbk): £22.99/$29.95.

When developing and planning tourism in a given destination, theory ­suggests

that it should be assessed and considered in a ‘systems approach’, where the
interdependence of the sector with other economic sectors and scientific fields
is thoroughly examined and fortified. In the fiercely competitive international
tourism market of today, most destinations attempt to promote their ­cultural
amenities and products alongside heritage buildings and sites in order to
emphasise their ‘uniqueness and authenticity’ in comparison to the competi-
tors. While the importance of culture and heritage for tourism has been recog-
nised and studied by both tourism academics and destination planners, this
book provides a new and valuable perspective on heritage tourism, as it enables
readers to understand how archaeologists perceive the growing influence of the
sector on the global marketing of the inherited past.
124 Journal of Heritage Tourism

The chapters bring together a wide range of international case studies revolv-
ing around the main notion of ‘global culture’ and investigating various aspects
of the commercialisation of heritage. The editors state their overall aim as being
to draw on such examples to investigate the new trend of utilising ‘the past’ as
a resource for widening the profit margin of various endeavors on a global
scale rather than as a concept useful solely for provoking political action and
reaction (p. x). In fact, the richness and diversity of the case studies covering
heritage sites from numerous countries including the United Kingdom,
Cambodia, Israel, Ireland, Jordan, Germany, the United States and Mexico, is
evident and help validate the overall thesis of the book that heritage is a global
phenomenon.
The book starts with an introductory chapter by the editors investigating
archeology in the contemporary world and heritage as a commodity. In the next
three chapters, the legal and historical context for marketing heritage is offered,
while the authors discuss topics such as the illegal importation, repatriation
and ownership of archaeological objects and artifacts, and the global measures
taken for their protection. The case study chapters, grouped under four ­sections,
raise interesting issues regarding how ancient sites are selected and promoted
for consumption; how effectively they are represented to visitors; and how
nationalism influences the global marketing of ‘the past’. Handler, for instance,
notes in his chapter that although the ‘reconstructed-to-be-authentic’. Colonial
Williamsburg in the United States is a good attraction for many visitors who are
keen on educating themselves about its history, the site is too clean with quite
streets and neat gardens to reflect the ‘dirtier’ real past. Comparing two ­heritage
sites from the United Kingdom – Stonehenge and Avebury – Gazin-Schwarts
studies the relationship between the popularity of heritage sites and their
­commercial representation through souvenirs in gift shops. It is also interesting
to read in Ardren’s chapter how some South American countries try to associ-
ate themselves with the Maya culture in the process of becoming ‘unique’ desti-
nations. The case study of Zippori (Israel) by Bauman, meanwhile, reminds
readers that nationalism may cause overemphasis on the protection and pres-
entation of what may be considered as ‘our history’, while the sites belonging to
‘other’ civilisations and cultures within the national boundaries are neglected
and suffer a lack of attention among decision-makers and planners.
Kohl states that the book, enriched by such case studies, is ‘one of the first
systematic efforts to analyse the new global marketing of the past by archeol-
ogists’ (p. 295) and certainly encourages further cooperative research among
academics specialised in the fields of marketing, tourism and archaeology.
Similarly, destination planners are encouraged to collaborate with historians
and archaeologists when developing heritage sites for tourism. While the book
encompasses important lessons deriving from the participant observation of
international heritage sites by the authors, in relation to the commercialisation
and promotion of the past, readers should bear in mind that the chapters are
structured and presented from the archaeological point of view. Hence, ‘mar-
keting’ ­messages are often hidden in between the lines and are not especially
straightforward. For this same reason, the marketing concept of the book focuses
more on the ‘product’ aspect – i.e. representation and interpretation – than on
the demand side of heritage tourism. Yet, the book is especially useful for
Book Reviews 125

researchers and students with an interest in issues such as: how archaeological
sites is used for fostering national identity; how global forces influence heritage
marketing; how the representation and interpretation of archaeological sites
could be made more effective; how heritage attractions can be made both
­educative and entertaining for visitor users; and how tourism influences the
notion of ‘global heritage’.

Gurhan Aktas
TC Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey
(gurhan.aktas@deu.edu.tr)

Is the Sacred for Sale? Tourism and Indigenous Peoples

Alison M. Johnston. Earthscan: London, 2006. Pp. 381. ISBN 1-85383-858-6
(hbk)/1-85383-859-4 (pbk): £19.99/£70.00.

As heritage, and in particular indigenous heritage, becomes an increasingly

popular draw for tourists, academics need to advance research that in turn aids
planners and managers, but more importantly recognises the knowledge of
local communities. For indigenous communities, it boils down to a matter of
identity, what factors are important for identity to survive, and what recogni­
sable threats are present or likely. Johnston states that this book ‘is written to
help break the silence on critical issues of our time, affecting us all. It is about
­consumerism and our own role in it’ (p. xii). On that note, this text is about
indigenous peoples, their rights, and the author’s own experiences of seeing the
sacred (heritage) being sold, in this case through tourism. Thus, to that end, Is
the Sacred for Sale? begins with a critical look at ecotourism. While the title leads
the reader to believe the text is to be focused on all tourism in relation to indige-
nous peoples, the entire introductory chapter features development stories,
reality checks, and tales of woe with regards to the indigenous community
worldwide and specifically its relationship only to ecotourism.
After reading the introduction chapter, it becomes abundantly clear that the
target audience for this text is quite broad. It is not your typical university text-
book or a text for tourism planners and management, but rather an almost pop-
ular-press type of read, with slight academic threads, written for the general
public. Johnston notes that this book is written to ‘push you out of your comfort
zone [and will confirm] what you have witnessed in your own life travels’
(p. xiii). In comparison to other tourism texts on the subject of indigenous tour-
ism, Johnston’s text is more recent than classic texts in the area, such as Butler
and Hinch’s Tourism and Indigenous Peoples (1996). However, in relation to two
other newly published texts it is considerably less useful in an academic sense
because the writing lacks consistency. In some instances this text is decidedly
unfocused, first discussing all tourism, then ecotourism and then sustainable
tourism with no real lines drawn, definitions clarified or reasoning as to why
such discussion is scattered and ideas juxtaposed. Is the Sacred for Sale? portrays
the situation between tourism and indigenous peoples through a variety of
mainly subjective sources, unlike Ryan and Aicken’s (2005) text which comes as
126 Journal of Heritage Tourism

a result of objective empirical work presented at an academic conference.

In comparison to Notzke’s (2006) work, Johnston’s text is much less structured
for classroom use; more free- flowing in its subjects, and thus consistent with a
text written for the general public.
With chapters ranging across a number of intriguing subjects – from land
rights, to partnerships, to self determination, to intellectual property – the over-
all content of the book gives good coverage, but each chapter reads like its own
short monologue. As a single-authored text, this is interesting in that it creates
a disjointed feel to the writing, as one might expect from an edited edition.
While there is little continuity between chapters, each chapter is fairly ­complete.
Each chapter contains an array of international examples, specific case-study
examples (mainly contained in specific text boxes), black-and-white photo-
graphs, and further recommended readings. While there is no conclusion to the
entire text, each chapter contains its own conclusion to the specific chapter
content.
While Is Sacred for Sale? is a stimulating read, it is not an all encompassing or
well-focused text. Johnston offers a great deal of insight from both her own
experience and many popular sources, and brings together a breadth of mate-
rial that many readers may have heard of as separate incidents. Johnston
­connects these seemingly separate issues in ways that readers may not have
given much thought to. The diversity of case-study examples in small text
boxes, while in many instances very relevant, sometimes add little to the text,
especially as none are expressly referred to. The considerable number of popu-
lar press references and the depth of appendices and notes give the text a degree
of comprehensiveness that is comforting, however, there is also a major flaw
in that there are virtually no academic references used in the entire book,
with considerable weight given to publishing from magazines, newspapers and
even airline newsletters.

Patrick T. Maher
University of Northern British Columbia, Canada
(maherp@unbc.ca)

References
Butler, R. and Hinch, T. (eds) (1996) Tourism and Indigenous Peoples. London: International
Thompson Business Press.
Notzke, C. (2006) “The Stranger, the Native and the Land”: Perspectives on Indigenous
Tourism. Concord, ON: Captus Press Inc.
Ryan, C. and Aicken, M. (eds) (2005) Indigenous Tourism: The Commodification and
Management of Culture. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Heritage, Museums and Galleries: An Introductory Reader

Gerard Corsane. London: Routledge, 2005. Pp. 392. ISBN 0-415-28946-7: £25.99.

Reviews of ‘readers’ are always problematic, since they rely so heavily on the
reader and/or the tutor for creating a context that brings the best out of such
Book Reviews 127

texts. Moreover, chapters that can seem dated on first reading may well take on
the mantle of historic documents as the wider literature evolves around them
and the next generation of students joins the discipline.
This reader is the author’s solution to requests from applicants for pre-­reading
in advance of joining postgraduate qualifications in heritage, museum or gal-
lery studies. Hence, the author sets himself the daunting task of selecting chap-
ters that will appeal to and engage with graduates, running the full spectrum
from novice to experienced, pausing only to involve undergraduates, research
students and academics – with a sprinkling of professionals and practitioners,
using the text for continuing professional development – and members of the
general public to top off the challenge of keeping a diverse range of readers
engaged with a single text.
Seeking to distinguish his text from alternatives, the author argues that it
should ‘. . . be seen as a first primer and introduction that can provide a founda-
tion and entry point that the user can then build upon’ (p. xiv) Hence, your
enjoyment of this text will depend, heavily, upon whether you see the same
multiple points of engagement and differing points of entry that the author
clearly believes are present.
Failing to engage with the author’s integrating model, though, can mean that
the book’s four main sections – overview, key issues, tourism and democratisa-
tion – do not deliver the breadth and scope that the book’s aims might seem
­initially to require. After all, novice readers will be heavily reliant on Part 1 for
their frame of reference, whilst more experienced readers and practitioners will
be tackling the key issues of Part 2 from their individual perspectives. However,
Part 2 seeks to focus on pre-selected issues, so that Part 3 can focus on cultural
tourism and Part 4 on public participation. Thus readers should ensure that
their own objectives tally closely with those of the text.
Since individual chapters were written for other purposes, it would be unfair
to be unduly picky about dated references and inconsistencies. They form an
interesting range of pieces, drawn from a broad range of respected journals and
texts, so as to build up a mosaic that utilises global examples to construct a
­picture of heritage, museums and galleries.
It is to the commissioned chapters that one ought to be looking for the trans-
ferable lessons, current context, inspiration and insights that the book’s aims
would lead one to expect. That one has to look in the acknowledgements to
­distinguish the selected chapters from the commissioned chapters indicates
that these authors may not have seen their objectives in the same light. Hence,
whilst the commissioned chapters are well written and insightful, it seems that
an opportunity to enhance the integration that such multi-audience books are
reliant upon has been missed.
There are ‘suggested reading’ lists at the end of each part of the reader. Given
the differing reader groups, though, these would have benefited from some
form of annotation to guide novice readers and offer some form of context for
more experienced readers.
Successful reader texts in other fields have asked the original authors to
revisit their work and provide either a brief context or to update and refocus
their work. One text even paired the authors of the seminal extracts with writers
drawn from the emerging generation of academics and practitioners, so as to
128 Journal of Heritage Tourism

deliver an exhilarating blend of perspectives and references. While one should

never underestimate the inventiveness required just to get a textbook published,
it seems that had this text followed a similar approach it would have met its
aims more effectively.
Potential readers of a text like this are likely to be following museums and
galleries that are making the headlines. This prompts the irksome thought that
one might actually gain similar insights and more inspiration from following,
say, the growing pains of the Baltic, the convoluted relationship between the
Tate and its trustees, or the controversy over Bury Council’s sale of a Lowry
painting from its art gallery.
Rightly or wrongly, perhaps the most accurate test to apply to this text is the
‘Encyclopaedia Britannica test’. Like Britannica, this text comes from laudable
aims and the detailed work of experienced authors; like Britannica, though, a
large section of its target audience(s) is likely to find that alternative sources are
seen as more timely, more accessible, more engaging, or just better value
for money. Hence, whilst all universities should have a copy in their library,
and most students and academics will be better off for having read sections of
interest, one cannot actually imagine buying a personal copy.

Bryn Parry
Southampton Solent University
(Bryn.Parry@solent.ac.uk)

Uses of Heritage
Laurajane Smith. Abingdon: Routledge, 2006. Pp. 351. ISBN 9780415318310
(pbk)/0415318300 (hbk): £17.99/£50.00.

With a bold claim on the back cover that the book is about to ‘re-theorize the
idea of heritage’, it is gratifying for academics who have long worked in this
cross-disciplinary area to acknowledge that heritage as an academic discipline
may finally have reached puberty, if not quite yet formally come of age. I should
state at the outset that this book is important. It is of value not only to those who
would call themselves heritage academics, as it critically defines and reviews
for them the notion of an ‘authorized heritage discourse’ adding to emergent
theoretical concepts for the subject – but it is also of importance for academic
tourism and geography in asserting an underpinning body of theory and links
between conceptual heritage as idea or process and objectified heritage as the
major tourism resource for many countries around the world. The notions of
performance and discourse are central to the wide ranging exploration which
Smith undertakes.
It is perhaps worth noting the expertise and past experience of Smith paved
an easier way for her writing of the book. Major fieldwork undertaken in her
home, Australia, and her current workplace, the UK, allows for comparison
using both objective and subjective gazes, as she considers how the authorised
heritage discourse asserts control over heritage and thus communities’ identities
Book Reviews 129

and abilities to engage with their collective and diverse pasts. Clear exploration
and application of theoretical ideas to extensive hard evidence collected from a
number of locations – including English country houses, an Australian cultural
landscape setting, museums and an urban regeneration project, and additionally
encompassing a review of the major global conventions for heritage as defined
by UNESCO and others – make the target audience wide. Students will learn
much about basic heritage issues as well as being immersed to some depth in the
conceptual difficulties with the subject, while practitioners and academics will
find much food for thought in the building of the concept of the authorised herit-
age discourse, and the notion of heritage as process being the important ‘bit’ to
understand and question. Extensive quoting from the ethnographic qualitative
interviews undertaken in fieldwork provides a rich seam for understanding
audiences’ participation in the performance of heritage in different locations and
cultural/social settings, and as a springboard for further comparative research
in future.
The book is divided into three broad sections – outlining the author’s ‘idea of
heritage’, before going on in the second and third sections to build an under-
standing of the authorised heritage discourse (referred to as ‘AHD’) in
‘Authorized Heritage’, before considering ‘Responses to Authorized Heritage’.
Tourism in the guises of heritage as both mundane everyday setting and ­specific
visitor attraction runs as a clear theme throughout, and in the initial ­exploration
of the ‘discourse of heritage’ the book looks closely at how the ‘collection’ of
heritage visitor attractions which typify the UK (and many other parts of the
northwest European) tourism offering came about. The engagement of the visi-
tor at sites and in heritage settings thoroughly explores both preconceptions
and misconceptions about socio-demographic groupings at attractions and
their motivations to visit. There are lessons to be learnt for the intersection of
heritage, tourism and leisure research in such site settings to enable greater
understanding of the visitor experience and likewise the opportunity for ever
greater engagement of the visitor.
As I progressed through the book a niggling concern luckily came to be
unfounded – it would have been easy (as has been seen in some other recent
texts and policy research work published as ‘grey literature’) for the book to
hinge entirely on an apology for the prevailing authorised heritage discourse.
Instances of communities and views which might be termed ‘dispossessed’ in
terms of history/identity/heritage are considered thoughtfully, particularly in
the indigenous Waanyi view of the management of the scientifically famous
Riversleigh landscape. The book is thus thankfully not judgemental on these
issues, and as a balanced piece of research if anything flies a flag bearing the
motto, ‘be aware!’, and no more, without taking sides. In the consideration of
responses to the authorised heritage discourse, I was left with some questions
though that perhaps relate to one of the dichotomies in certain aspects of her-
itage interpretation by ‘institutions’ of any kind: in labour history museums
and to some extent industrial heritage sites is the AHD not going to be
challenged anyway by the very nature of the cultural resource being dis-
played/interpreted? Furthermore, as soon as this potentially ‘subaltern’ social-
­historical/non-authorised story becomes presented, does it not become part
of the authorised discourse? I thus wondered at the end of the book whether
130 Journal of Heritage Tourism

further consideration is needed. Is there perhaps a subtle distinction to be

made between an authorised heritage discourse and a formalised heritage
discourse? Power, accord and dissonance are at the heart of all of this, and
I am pleased that there remains more for onward debate. This book however
could prove to be seminal in those debates.

Ian Baxter
Glasgow Caledonian University
(iba@gcal.ac.uk)