and dynamic land tenure arrangements for familyfarming vis-à-vis access and ownership of land;illustrating cases where land is a commonproperty and a commercial resource, and usedfor both subsistence and commercial activities,involving both market and non-market transac-tions. The following chapter elaborates on ele-ments applied to land such as labour, tools,livestock and seeds. Again, for students, thismaterial is very useful, as the authors clearlyexplain, for example, labour arrangements infamily farming and the general rationale behindthem, and then proceed to contextualise this dis-cussion to particular places. Where appropriate,the authors also incorporate gender analysis, andin later chapters discuss and debate key conceptssuch as the ‘agrarian question’, deagrarianisationand pluriactivity. While there are two excellentchapters on conservation and environmentalchange, including land degradation and pollu-tion, what is perhaps missing in the book (andacknowledged by the authors) is an explicit dis-cussion or case study material of conditionsfor family farming in the context of climate vari-ability and already evident climate changeimpacts.

The overall tone of the book is positive, includ-ing the authors’ conclusion about family farmingprospects to 2034. There are, however, realisticaccounts of difficult times for family farmerswoven throughout the text, and moments of frank-ness that point to the authors’ disappointmentsand disillusions. For example, they reflect thatChapter 6 – a survey of changing agriculturalpolicies in North Atlantic countries in the contextof the post-1945 drive for state-led economicdevelopment through to the neo-liberal project ofglobalism in the 1980s and beyond – was in manyways, ‘a sad chapter to write’ (p. 77). In theirconcluding chapter, Brookfield and Parsons seemresigned to a continued neo-conservative policydominance (and hence failure) in the future.Although they see family farms as being con-strained in many ways by structural forces, andrecognise contradictory processes that militateagainst their success (such as replacement ofthe current generation of farmers), they also putforward several well-conceived arguments as towhy the family farm will persist. The authorspoint out that, over time, improvements in techni-cal efficiency in agricultural production are likelyto become increasingly independent of scale ofoperation. In the interim, they argue that competi-tive family farming can be achieved through themeans of contracting and sharefarming, collabo-

ration in labour and equipment provision, andcooperation in marketing (p. 205). Due totheir size, family farms are at an advantagebecause they are better able to flexibly adapt tochanging conditions. As far as considering envi-ronmental impact, they state that ‘many familyfarmers, but few large-scale capitalist farmers,have responded to the need to change agriculturaland pastoral practices’ (p. 217). Citing thegrowing popularity in developed countries offarmers’ markets, awareness of food miles, anddesire for local direct sale, they argue that publicdemand for environmentally sound food pro-duction and consumption indicates the need forcontinued and concerted efforts to reconnectproducers and consumers. For Brookfield andParsons, this ‘counter-movement’, part of thestruggle to lessen the effects of global warmingand promote the smart use of energy, could, in thelong term, be an important driver that ensuresthe survival and renewal of family farminglivelihoods.

Michelle CarnegieAustralian National University

The International Library of Essays inTourism, Heritage and CultureTimothy, D.J. (ed.), Ashgate, Aldershot, UK andBurlington, USA, 2007.Volume 1 Managing Heritage and CulturalTourism Resources, 452 pp, ISBN 978 0 75462704 3 (hardback) £110.00.Volume 2 The Heritage Tourist Experience, xxi +525 pp, ISBN 978 0 7546 2697 8 ((hardback)£135.00.Volume 3 The Political Nature of Cultural Heri-tage and Tourism, xviii + 520 pp, ISBN 978 07546 2700 5 (hardback) £135.00.

Heritage is a simple concept with complex impli-cations. Common definitions include ‘anythingthat someone wishes to conserve or collect, and topass on to future generations’ (Howard, 2003, 6)and ‘some sort of inheritance to be passed down tocurrent and future generations’ (Timothy andBoyd, 2003, 2). There is a tendency to think ofheritage as buildings which need classification(‘heritage listing’) and preservation. This is rein-forced by the activities of various governmentalheritage agencies. A recent trend has been toregard intangible heritage as equally deserving astangible buildings and artefacts, though this has

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stimulated a debate as to whether or not tangibleand intangible are different types of heritage orsimply different dimensions of heritage (Ahmad,2006).

While some attempt to portray heritage asobjective (developing criteria of standard heri-tage values), it is increasingly seen as a subjec-tive construction. This makes heritage a slipperybeast, constantly changing as society evolves. Ahalf century ago heritage was conceived as highculture, resulting in an emphasis on preservinggrand country mansions and prominent civicbuildings. In recent years there has been a greateremphasis on the vernacular, including industrialand mining sites and the homes of ordinarypeople. Episodes which were once seen asshameful and needing to be covered up, such asthe exploits of convicts and bushrangers, are nowtreasured as heritage icons (Frost, 2006; Sassoon,2006). Indeed, one now sees the rubric of heri-tage applied to sport, popular music and film.

The heterogeneity of heritage and culturaltourism studies is reflected in the three volumesof critical essays selected and edited by DallenTimothy. A prolific writer on heritage and editorof The Journal of Heritage Tourism, Timothy is agood choice for this monumental undertaking.The resulting publication includes 91 articles bysome 121 different authors/co-authors from awide range of countries and perspectives. All thearticles have been published previously, thoughthey are selected from a wide range of tourism,geography and heritage journals. The articles(not really essays) are presented under threebroad themes of management, experience andpolitics, with the ‘most critical points of majorconcern’ identified by Timothy in valuable intro-ductions to each volume. In assembling thesearticles thematically, the aim seems to be toarrive at some sort of consensus of concerns, orat least some convergence of opinion on whatconstitutes the most critical issues. This has beenachieved to varying degrees in each volume, asdescribed below.

Volume 1: Managing Heritage and CulturalTourism ResourcesMost heritage tourism sites are unmanaged, orpoorly managed, as evidenced by the lack of dataon heritage site visitation, by ongoing degrada-tion of built and natural heritage and by cultural‘commodification’ akin to a modern form of col-onisation. This management challenge has beenaddressed by the various authors in volume onewho study the negative ‘impacts’ of heritage

and cultural tourism (Chapters 8, 10 and 11).Timothy recognises that not all impacts are nega-tive, and three chapters (16, 26 and 29) identifythe positive economic benefits of heritagetourism. The nexus between visitors and impactsis assumed and management is seen as the meansof reducing negative and enhancing positiveimpacts. If only that causal relationship were sobut, despite the evidence in this volume, the linesof accountability for declining heritage and cul-tural resources extend well beyond visitors andmanagement.

This brings into play a number of criticalissues for management including the availabilityof funding (Chapters 11 and 31); the importanceof conservation (Chapters 2, 8, 14 and 21); therole of interpretation (Chapters 3, 6, 17, 18, 19and 28); controlling visitors on site (Chapters 9,11, 22, 23 and 27); providing quality (Chapters11, 15, 24 and 25); and stakeholder participation(Chapters 1, 4, 8, 10, 13, 20 and 29).

This volume does indeed highlight the man-agement issues identified in the most salienttourism literature but a number of operationalissues of critical importance to managers of heri-tage places, such as staffing and budgets, havenot been included in this volume. Hence there isnot only inadequate management of heritagetourism, but also inadequate knowledge of the‘real’ issues that confront heritage managers on adaily basis. These include such mundane factorssuch as governance, financial planning, market-ing, positioning, human resources and planningall of which have been identified as critical to thesuccess of heritage tourism attractions (Carlsenet al., in press). While these management issuesdo not have the academic appeal of more sub-stantive issues in the management of heritage andcultural tourism resources, this gap in the litera-ture reflects on the relevance of these academicstudies for those at the coal-face.

Volume 2: The Heritage TouristExperience‘Heritage Tourist’ is an unfortunate combinationof words. It conjures up images of busloads ofearnest pedants, a sort of history-obsessed groupof trainspotters. Such groups do exist, and sincethey are so highly visible and focused, there is atendency for tourism managers to target them.Claims that ‘heritage tourism is one of the fastestgrowing segments in today’s travel market’(Chen, Chapter 4, p. 49), create a perceptionthat this is a major clearly defined segment withcertain characteristics and socio-demographic

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features. This segment is often further dividedinto sub-categories of tourists – the literarytourist, the thanatourist, the industrial heritagetourist and so on. Such an approach is verycommonly applied to heritage in the tourismstrategies of various government agencies.

The difficulty with this approach is that it leadsto ideas that one only needs to develop a heritageattraction to pull in the crowds. Unfortunately,supply does not necessarily equal demand. AsMcKercher et al. argue:

many destination marketers . . . hold the naïvebelief that any locally significant historical orcultural asset possesses the attributes requiredto become a primary attraction. As a result,many communities have made significantinvestments to develop publicly owned cul-tural assets as attractions only to experienceunsatisfactory visitation levels’ (Chapter 20,p. 276).

It is perhaps better to see tourists at heritage sitesas ‘incidental’. This approach argues that holi-daymakers undertake a wide range of activitieswithin a destination. Attracting tourists thendepends on developing the destination’s imageand attributes, which requires a collaborativeapproach amongst operators.

This volume would be better thought of as‘The Tourist Experience at Heritage Places’. Itdoes include a number of studies which havetried to measure or conceptualise heritage tour-ists. However, the bulk of the chapters take asupply side perspective, looking at individualattractions or groups of thematically linkedattractions, and the experiences that they offer tovisitors. This coverage is extensive, includingattractions based on music, books, indigenousculture, diasporas, atrocities, mining, industry,transport and historical re-enactments.

Volume 3: The Political Nature of CulturalHeritage and TourismHeritage attractions offer a ‘re-creation ofthe selective past’ (Timothy and Boyd, 2003, 4).This selection is often made by political, socialand economic elites, who use their choice andinterpretation of heritage to justify themselves(Richter, 1999). Heritage is then a ‘distortion ofthe past’, which promotes ‘fantasies of a worldthat never was’ (Hewison, 1987, 10). It is ‘a par-tisan perversion, the past manipulated for apresent aim’ (Lowenthal, 1998, 102–103). Undersuch circumstances, it means that while, ‘heri-tage benefits someone . . . [it also] disadvantages

someone else’ (Howard, 2003, 4). While making,‘some people feel better, more rooted and moresecure . . . [it] simultaneously makes anothergroup feel less important, less welcome and lesssecure’ (Howard, 2003, 147). Accordingly, ‘heri-tage battles are not just against vandals, but alsothose who would also claim the same heritage’(Lowenthal, 1998, 230). This leads to the devel-opment of guardians of heritage, committed topresenting their version of history as true andexcluding or suppressing the claims of rivals(Fawcett and Cormack, Chapter 10).

Tunbridge and Ashworth coined the termheritage dissonance to describe these situationswhere cultural heritage provoked a ‘discordanceor a lack of agreement and consistency’ amongstthe community (1996, 20). Such disagreementsmay be seen as unsettling and disruptive, callingfor action to resolve or cover them up. However,Tunbridge and Ashworth argued that dissonance‘is intrinsic to the nature of heritage . . . It isnot an unforeseen and unfortunate by-productof the heritage assembly process’ (1996, 21). Putsimply, dissonance makes heritage interesting, ifthere was no controversy then it would havelimited appeal.

Such issues are the subject of the third volume,which stands out as the strongest of the series.Some key debates are played out, the mostimportant of which is that over authenticity. Thevolume includes MacCannell’s early work on thestaging of authenticity for tourists, countered byCohen’s rebuttal of MacCannell, which high-lights that authenticity is negotiated by tourists.These classic contributions are supported byfurther postmodern theoretical studies by Wangand Bruner and illustrative case studies by DeLyser (of Bodie, a Californian gold miningtown), Fawcett and Cormack (Anne of GreenGables) and Moscardo and Pearce (Australianheritage attractions). A recent article by Chronison how visitors to Gettysburg co-construct inter-pretation based on their preconceptions is alsorelevant to this debate.

The other main issue of this volume is howheritage attractions are used to present a certaininterpretation of history. In some cases these arestill hotly contested. This is particularly illus-trated by a trio of US battlefield sites: LittleBighorn (Buchholtz), Gettysberg (Chronis) andthe Alamo (De Oliver). On a larger scale, anumber of case studies consider how politicalchanges are considered at heritage sites. Includedhere are regime changes for South Africa(Ghoudie et al.) and former communist countries

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(Light). Similarly Pritchard and Morgan explorehow growing national identity affects the market-ing of Wales, or should that be Cymru?

ConclusionThis three volume set is a valuable resourcewhich should be included in every tertiarylibrary. It is an excellent starting point for anyonebeginning studies in heritage, allowing them toview a wide range of important articles anddebates within the one source. Even the experi-enced researcher will find much of stimulation inexploring Timothy’s wide and well thought outchoices. The format of the set does impose somelimitations. By only including journal articles, arich range of sources from books is unfortunatelyexcluded. The work of Ashworth and Tunbridge,for example, is not included. This is compensatedfor, to a certain extent, by Timothy’s introductoryessays to each volume.

REFERENCESAhmad, Y., 2006: The scope and definitions of heritage: from

tangible to intangible. International Journal of HeritageStudies 12, 292–300.

Carlsen, J., Hughes, M., Frost, W., Pocock, C. and Peel, V. (inpress): Success Factors for Successful Heritage TourismEnterprise Management. Sustainable Tourism CRCTechnical Report, Sustainable Tourism CRC, Gold Coast,Australia.

Frost, W., 2006: Braveheart-ed Ned Kelly: historic films,heritage tourism and destination image. Tourism Manage-ment 27, 247–254.

Hewison, R., 1987: The Heritage Industry: Britain in aClimate of Decline. Methuen, London.

Howard, P., 2003: Heritage: Management, Interpretation,Identity. Continuum Press, London.

Lowenthal, D., 1998: The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils ofHistory. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Richter, L.K., 1999: The politics of heritage tourismdevelopment: emerging issues for the new millennium. InPearce, D.G. and Butler, R.W. (eds) Contemporary Issuesin Tourism Development. Routledge, London and NewYork, 108–126.

Sassoon, J., 2006: The courage of their convictions: creatingcultural landscapes in 1930s Western Australia. Interna-tional Journal of Heritage Studies 12, 255–266.

Timothy, D.J. and Boyd, S.W., 2003: Heritage Tourism.Prentice Hall, Harlow.

Tunbridge, J.E. and Ashworth, G.J., 1996: Dissonant Heri-tage: the Management of the Past as a Resource in Con-flict. Wiley, Chichester.

Warwick FrostMonash University

Australia

Jack CarlsenCurtin University of Technology

Australia

Spaces of Global Capitalism: Towards a Theoryof Uneven Geographical DevelopmentDavid Harvey, Verso, London, 2006, I + 154 pp,ISBN 1 84467 065 1 (paperback) A$45.

In this book David Harvey explores Marxiannotions of uneven geographical developmentusing a dialectical conceptualisation of space andcapitalism. The book is divided into three chap-ters, two of which are based on public lecturesgiven at the Hettner-Lecture in 2004 and onebased on a seminar series.

Chapter 1 is a case study on the ways inwhich capitalism regained predominancethrough neoliberalism. The spaces of neoliberal-ism are explored in relation to recent forms ofuneven geographical development and its role inthe resurgence of accumulation by dispossession.There is also substantial coverage of the variousforces and processes that have been employed tofacilitate the neoliberal turn, notably a combina-tion of coercion, hegemonic power and demo-cratic consent. Harvey outlines how the UnitedStates and Britain championed neoliberalism asthe only means of overcoming the poor economicperformance in the late 1970s and 1980s. Heobserves that the adoption of neoliberalism didnot necessarily lead to better economic perfor-mance. In this way Harvey makes a case that theneoliberal turn was a counter reaction by thedominant classes (or capitalists) who had lostwealth and power under the social democraticstate.

Neoliberalism then, according to Harvey, is aproject of accumulation through dispossession. Itis about redistribution of capital towards theupper classes, rather than the generation of newcapital. This is done through privatisations,financialisation, crisis creation and State redistri-butions. The role of the state changes from itswelfare role to a facilitation of the capital accu-mulation role. This chapter also explores a rangeof other themes including the various contradic-tions and oppositions within neoliberalism, andits close alliance with neo-conservatism. Thedescription of the neoliberal state provides anideological basis for the type of reforms that havecome to predominate in Australia over the last 30years. The chapter is enhanced by drawing onexamples from recent geopolitical and economicevents.

Attempting to cover the many aspects ofneoliberalism is a major task. Harvey presentsan overview of key events and issues with ahigh level of analysis to develop his argument;

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