Interpreting Our Heritage / Edition 4

by Freeman Tilden

Overview

Every year millions of Americans visit national parks and monuments, state and municipal parks, battlefields, historic houses, and museums. By means of guided walks and talks, tours, exhibits, and signs, visitors experience these areas through a very special kind of communication technique known as "interpretation." For fifty years, Freeman Tilden's Interpreting Our Heritage has been an indispensable sourcebook for those who are responsible for developing and delivering interpretive programs. This expanded and revised anniversary edition includes not only Tilden's classic work but also an entirely new selection of accompanying photographs, five additional essays by Tilden on the art and craft of interpretation, a new foreword by former National Park Service director Russell Dickenson, and an introduction by R. Bruce Craig that puts Tilden's writings into perspective for present and future generations.

Whether the challenge is to make a prehistoric site come to life; to explain the geological basis behind a particular rock formation; to touch the hearts and minds of visitors to battlefields, historic homes, and sites; or to teach a child about the wonders of the natural world, Tilden's book, with its explanation of the famed "six principles" of interpretation, provides a guiding hand.

For anyone interested in our natural and historic heritage—park volunteers and rangers, museum docents and educators, new and seasoned professional heritage interpreters, and those lovingly characterized by Tilden as "happy amateurs—Interpreting Our Heritage and Tilden's later interpretive writings, included in this edition, collectively provide the essential foundation for bringing into focus the truths that lie beyond what the eye sees.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807858677
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	03/18/2008
Edition description:	Fourth Edition, Expanded and Updated
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	315,333
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Freeman Tilden (1883-1980) was a pioneer in the field of natural and cultural interpretation. A former journalist, playwright, and novelist, he began writing about America's national parks in the 1940s with the encouragement of National Park Service director Newton Drury. This led to four books on visiting, learning, and teaching about national and state parks and other heritage areas, of which Interpreting Our Heritage remains the most influential.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

[A] seminal book which may inspire yet another generation of park rangers." —Reflections



That our marvelous national parks are vital to Americans' collective heritage is due in no small measure to the interpretive magic of Freeman Tilden. His inspiring message is amplified and lent current salience by Bruce Craig. It is a delight to be reminded that appreciating our legacy comes, first and foremost, from being provoked into loving it."—David Lowenthal, Emeritus, University College London, author of The Past Is a Foreign Country, The Heritage Crusade and the Spoils of History, and George Perkins Marsh: Prophet of Conservation



The interpretive profession continues to embrace Freeman Tilden and his classic text because he exemplified 'the priceless ingredient'—loving the thing you interpret and the people who come to enjoy it. This fiftieth anniversary edition is a chance to rededicate ourselves to the unfinished interpretive task— to ensure that future generations have abundant opportunities to connect to the meanings and significance of the special places for which we serve as stewards." —Theresa G. Coble, Stephen F. Austin State University



At first glance Tilden's principles seem simple and direct, but on reflection they are as paradoxical and poetic as the process of interpretation itself. This expanded edition of Tilden's writings is sure to make interpreters realize how Tilden speaks to us even today and continues to challenge us to do our best."—Scott Mair, coordinator of environmental education, Capital Regional District, Victoria, BC, Canada



Bruce Craig gives us cause to look at Freeman Tilden's life and writings with fresh eyes, fostering renewed appreciation for his masterful work and his passion for interpretation."—Evie Kirkwood, president, National Association for Interpretation



Since opening its doors in 1964, the National Park Service's Stephen T. Mather Training Center in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, has introduced each attending NPS Interpreter to Freeman Tilden's interpretive philosophy and principles. From 1967-1970, Tilden personally trained the NPS interpretive workforce as a center instructor, honing and expanding his ideas and impact among fellow interpreters. Interpreting Our Heritage is the defining work that firmly established interpretation in the National Parks as a professional, equal, and unique component of NPS park management. This new edition of Tilden's seminal work will continue to influence and inspire all interpreters, serving as a vital interpretive training reference for another fifty years."—Michael D. Watson; chief of interpretation, NPS (1987-1992), and superintendent, Stephen T. Mather Training Center (1992-2006)



Interpreting Our Heritage is the defining work that firmly established Interpretation in the National Parks as a professional, equal, and unique component of NPS park management. This new edition of Tilden's seminal work will continue to influence and inspire all interpreters, serving as a vital interpretive training reference for another fifty years."—Michael D. Watson; chief of interpretation, NPS (1987-1992), and superintendent, Stephen T. Mather Training Center (1992-2006)

Editorial Reviews

"[A] seminal book which may inspire yet another generation of park rangers."
— Reflections

From the Publisher