Description
Book SynopsisTom King knows cultural resource management. As one of its long-standing practitioners, a key person in developing the regulations, and a consultant, trainer, and author of several important books on the topic, King''s ideas on CRM have had a large impact on contemporary practice. In this witty, sardonic book, he outlines ways of improving how cultural resources are treated in America. King tackles everything from disciplinary blinders, NAGPRA, and the National Register to flaws in the Section 106 process, avaricious consultants, and the importance of meaningful consultation with native peoples. This brief work is an important source of new ideas for anyone working in this field and a good starting point for discussion in courses and training programs.
Trade ReviewThinking About Cultural Resource Management: Essays from the Edge...includes thoughtful articles on a wide range of topics including meaningful consultation with Native People and biases among archaeologists. * Sacred Sites Newsletter, Vol. 13.1 (Fall 2002) *
King's critical voice is indeed a refreshing retort to the uncritical literature that frequently appears in cultural resource management and historic preservation policy publications...King's rebukes encourage a new line of thinking about CRM: a much more critical understanding of the regulations that govern our work and the fragmented sources of power that often lie behind it. -- Kirk E. Ranzetta * Vernacular Architecture Newsletter, No. 97, Fall 2003 *
A substantial contribution to American historical and archaeological resources at both intellectual and hands-on levels...a worthy enterprise...I can commend this to anybody in CRM domains...happily and strongly recommend[ed] -- Bruce Rippeteau, University of South Carolina * American Antiquity, Vol. 69, No. 1, 2004 *
This book is...interesting in providing a context for the growth of the heritage industry...the underpinning issues are highly relevant...the book should be compulsory reading for heritage professionals, both within and outside government agencies. -- Michael Pearson, University of Canberra * Historic Environment, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2003 *
This book contains the same rational, articulate and pointed critique of CRM laws and their implementation that we have come to expect and enjoy from King....I strongly recommend this book to anyone involved in cultural resource management and believe it should be a fundamental teaching tool for university courses. -- Kurt E. Dongoske, Zuni Cultural Resource Enterprise * Kiva, Vol. 69, Nr. 4, Summer 2004 *
I promise you a great read, lots of opportunities to live inside of Tom King's head for a little while and find out exactly what a cosmic, marvelously contentious and critically important thought space that really is. Anyone who is on the consulting or receiving end of CRM practice should see this book as a must-read. It is not a primer on process, but rather a sequence of considerations on the 'why'-ness of it all, and how we as a national community have more, or less, managed our collective cultural affairs....you will get high humor in the midst of the dandy diatribes. -- Deborah Morse-Kahn Regional Research Associates, Director, Regional Research Associates
King effectively provoked me into a critical evaluation of what we are trying to accomplish with CRM. I recommend this volume as food for thougt to CRM practitioners, government regulators and teachers of CRM practice at universities and colleges. -- L.J. (Butch) Amundson, (Stantec Consulting Ltd., Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) * Canadian Journal of Archaeology *
Few individuals are better placed to provide sage advice and observation about the current state of CRM practice than King. -- Erik Nordberg * Industrial Archeology, Vol. 28, No. 2, 2002 *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: Rethinking Cultural Resource Management Chapter 2: Thinking About Cultural Resources Management as an Extradisciplinary Enterprise Chapter 3: Doing a Job on Culture Chapter 4: It's Not Ethnography, Either Chapter 5: An Uninspired Centerpiece: The National Register of Historic Places Chapter 6: The Hester Chapter 7: Process vs. Preservation: a False Dichotomy Chapter 8: Thinking About Impact Assessment and Mitigation Chapter 9: What Is Section 106 Review Anyhow? Two Views Chapter 10: What if We Lost Section 106? Is the Worst Case Necessarily the Worst Case? Chapter 11: What's in a Name? The Case of "Potentially Eligible" Historic Properties Chapter 12: In the Eye of the Beholder: Visual Impacts and Section 106 Review Chapter 13: "Historic Preservation's Responsibility" and Section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act Chapter 14: The Letter of the Law Chapter 15: A Consultant's Duty Chapter 16: Thinking about Indigenous Issues Chapter 17: What's Really Wrong with NAGPRA Chapter 18: Stupid TCP Tricks Chapter 19: Bigger Than a Breadbox? Chapter 20: What Should We Consult About, and How Much Information Do We Need to Do It? Chapter 21: Thinking About Archeology in CRM Chapter 22: Archeo-Bias: Recognition and Prevention Chapter 23: Integrity Among Archeologists: The Dirty Truth Chapter 24: A 1937 Winged Liberty Head Dime From Silver Spring, Maryland Chapter 25: Lafayette, Where Are You? The European Union, Cultural Heritage, and CRM in the United States Glossary Bibliography About the Author
