A Tough Little Patch of History

 

Tough Little Patch of History should be required reading for anyone contemplating the burgeoning field of heritage tourism–a vaguely defined intersection of historic preservation and economic development. Opportunities for heritage tourism abound, but their potential is seldom realized and even less frequently sustained. Public historians recently have begun to examine this all-too-common pattern, and Dickey’s book joins Seth Bruggeman’s Here, George Washington Was Born: Memory, Material Culture, and the Public History of a National Monument (CH, Aug’09, 46-6982) as a notable contribution to this scholarship. Through case studies set in metropolitan Atlanta–the Atlanta History Center, the apartment where Margaret Mitchell wrote her novel, and efforts to recreate Tara in Clayton County–Dickey (Kennesaw State Univ.) examines “the role of local museums, governments, and civic associations in perpetuating the marketplace for Gone with the Wind memory.” Having established this context, the author analyzes images associated with Mitchell’s book and David O. Selznick’s film while endorsing “Michael Frisch’s notion of a shared authority in public history-that scholars, designers, audiences, and the media come together to shape the message.” Academic libraries supporting public history courses should purchase this book.
–B. M. Banta, Arkansas State University

Summing Up: Essential. All academic levels/libraries