The Past is a Foreign Country

Inthisremarkablywide-rangingbookProfessorLowenthalanalysestheever-changingroleofthepastinshapingourlives.Aheritageatoncenurturingandburdensome,thepastallowsustomakesenseofthepresentwhilstimposingpowerfulconstraintsuponthewaythatpresentdevelops.Someaspectsofthepastarecelebrated,othersexpunged,aseachgenerationreshapesitslegacyinlinewithcurrentneeds.Drawingonallthearts,thehumanitiesandthesocialsciences,theauthorusessourcesasdiverseassciencefictionandpsychoanalysistoexaminehowrebellionagainstinheritedtraditionhasgivenrisetothemoderncultofpreservationandpervasivenostalgia.Profuselyillustrated,ThePastisaForeignCountryshowsthatalthoughthepasthasceasedtobeasanctionforinheritedpowerorprivilege,asafocusofpersonalandnationalidentityandasabulwarkagainstmassiveanddistressingchangeitremainsaspotentaforceaseverinhumanaffairs.