The Past Is a Foreign Country

I'm a grad student reading this for a class on 'heritage tourism.' I've enjoyed the flow of his sentences and the interesting images, but I agree with Kenneth (an earlier reviewer): when a hundred-page chapter can be summarized in one page, I've tended to skim quite a bit. In our class we've read chapters 1,2,5, and 6, and that's made the book a lot more manageable! These chapters have focused on how modern people use the past for present needs, the issues that come with too much focus on the past, and just how we can know 'the past' (through collective history, individual memory, and tangible relics). Chapter 6 is one of the most interesting, as it emphasizes how we change the past (understood as a mental object we've created) through using it and twisting it to serve our purposes. If you're running short on time, his table of contents and chapter headings are fairly extensive, so it's possible to get a good sense of the book by looking at it's skeleton. Plus, do make time to read at least ten pages or so to get a feel for his writing! If you're a literature sort of person, it's enjoyable and fluid in small doses. :-D

This is an ambitious effort. It is a comprehensive effort to understand how Humanity relates to, and makes use of the Past. And a central focus is that Past which is in cultural monuments and great creations. I admit that reading this book I felt overwhelmed and confused by the multiplicity of categories and uses, by the variety of learning and connections. I seemed to lose my inner checkposts, my way of measuring whether what was being said was true to my experience, or not. And here I felt the strong distinction between the 'public memory' which as I understand it is by and large the subject of the work, and the kind of private individual memory through which we interpret and give meaning to our own lives.

Almost encyclopedical in his treatment of Western cultures' relations to their past, Lowenthal gives the reader a roller-coster ride, from time travel fantasies to Viking logos in Minnesota. Lowenthal is more into exploring our relation to the past than debunking myths, thus being more open to the manifold ways we use the past than in his later book "The Heritage Crusade." One problem remains: Lowenthal's idea about the foreign-ness of the past, that we today have a different way of understanding the passing of time than our medieval ancestors, could have benefitted from more elaboration. Still, this is a masterpiece.

This book is a unique of study on how to understand history. I found it almost impossible to put down, and my reference point for touring historical sites and watching movies and televisons shows has been foreever altered. Highly recommended for its readability and fabulous bibliography and footnotes. A must read for anyone interested in history.

This book is a tough read, but a very informative look into why we view history in the way we do.