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Possessed by the Past. David Lowenthal. New York: Free Press, 1996.
The subtitle of this volume, "The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History," delineates Lowenthal's purpose of trying to distinguish between real history, and our understanding and use of it, and the grip that heritage is holding on our imaginations. His is a herculean task and a superb accomplishment. Lowenthal points out that history-even with our individual and collective interpretations of it-is more real than heritage. Heritage is our naming...