Blackwell Science, LtdOxford, UKIJCInternational Journal of Consumer Studies0309-3891Blackwell Publishing, 200327Book Review 27Book Review
Book reviews
Tourism. Between Place and Performance. Ed. by Simon Coleman and Mike Crang. Published by Berghahn Books, May 2002-09-03. Price: hardback £40.00, paperback £17.00. ISBN hardback 1-57181-745X, paperback 1-57181-746-8. Extent: 256 pages, 5 tables, 5 figures, bibliography, index. This text is a welcome addition to the rapidly expanding field of study grouped together under the title ‘tourism’. The 16 contributors provide interesting and thought-provoking insights into this academic area of study. Each contributor provides valuable analysis and relevant case studies that investigate the interaction between tourists and those that they visit. Some provide an almost ethnographic study of tourism and its impact on communities. From a consumer science viewpoint, consumers are seen as targets for the industry. Or as Coleman and Crang put it ‘These (tourist) places all seemingly entail the production of a standardized experience for consumers, targeting a mass market . . .’ (p. 2). Tourism is, however, changing from a massmarket provision to one in which individual tailoring of the experience can be provided. Consumers, certainly the more affluent ones, are now more demanding and critical of the experiences that are made available. Many are willing to pay premium prices for a unique experience. Consumerism has moved from the mass production of goods through consumer education/ services to experiences. Consumers now purchase an experience as part of their leisure activities and purchase many such experiences rather than the traditional two-week summer vacation. This text outlines some of these developments and the packaging of experiences and their marketing, especially the concept of heritage as a consumer commodity. The mix of academic specialisms provides a rich mix of viewpoints, which is useful to undergraduates as well as more experienced researchers. Drawing on concepts, theories and ideas from anthropology, sociology and geography, this book focuses on the idea that tourism is an expanded form of spectatorship with a dynamic sense of embodiment and performed engagement with places or sites. As such, it examines the practices, images, conventions and creativity involved in the variety of ways in which host com-
© 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
munities ‘perform’ the ‘local’ and the different ways in which tourists as consumers see the visited landscape. As the preface states, this book is certainly ‘a welcome addition to a rapidly growing field of study’ and provides a useful and challenging piece of source material for students and academics. Structurally, the contributions to this collection of essays are clustered around four main themes based on their substantive content: The Place of Nature, Back to the City, Distanciated Places and Bringing It All Back Home. Before these, the editors of the book provide an introductory chapter that helps the reader to contextualize the main theoretical perspectives developed in the book and provides an overview of the contributors’ work. In the first section, dealing with the place of nature in tourism, Bell and Lyall’s examination of adventure tourism in New Zealand shows a shift from static to a dynamic landscape, with nature tourism being presented as a unique kinaesthetic experience. In addition, given the move in tourism towards multimedia experiences, both this essay and Neumann’s essay, dealing with the development of tourism at the Grand Canyon, examine the role technologies of motion and viewing and how they shape tourist performances and places. McDonald’s essay on the Scottish Highlands focuses on the local responses to a particular suite of Highland imagery being sold globally, which projects notions of wilderness, primitive virtue and natural heritage. In particular, he examines how the tourist implores the host to partake in the tourist fantasy and to be ‘the guest star in this scripted Scottish Eden’ (p. 71). Section two entitled ‘Back to the City’ explores two main ideas. First, the papers by Fillippucci and Ridler look at two forms of re-enactment of past practices in sites and events in Italy where the tourist consumes the local identity and culture through the performance of hosts. Second, the papers by Travlou and Eade examine the role of the guidebook and the guide in the exploration of local space by tourists. Tucker’s chapter in the third section of the book (Distanciated Places) considers how, Goreme, a traditional village of cave-dwelling peasants in Turkey, is portrayed officially as an ‘authentic’ tourist attraction,
International Journal of Consumer Studies, 27, 1, January 2003, pp87–90
87
Book Review
whereas local tourism services display names and imagery that present it as a contrived Flintstone theme park. Irony, according to Tucker, is a form of passive resistance by the locals in Goreme. The theme of place is developed further in Meltzer’s essay about a ‘worldfamed’ drugstore in Wall, South Dakota. He argues that what counts in relation to this tourist attraction is not really arriving but the getting there. Place is disseminated via the multiple roadside signs for the drugstore. Springwood’s chapter concerning a Japanese version of an American ‘field of dreams’ baseball pitch examines how national cultures are carried and instantiated. The performance of the baseball game is ‘a play on ideas of what it is means to be American and also an expression of what it means to be Japanese. In the final section of the book (Bringing it All Back Home), Chaney and Crouch present two papers that explore the practices of tourists who view and experience places. In particular, Crouch suggests that when the tourist remembers a place they have visited, they remember everything, the planned and the unplanned, the good and the bad. From Crouch’s perspective, place is experienced in all its dimensions and is immersive. There is an extensive bibliography and a well presented index that enables the reader to find their way around and pursue lines of enquiry. Overall the main strength of the book is its exploration of complex theories and concepts in the context of real world situations and case studies. Additionally it is to be highly commended as it consolidates a range of perspectives, debates and illustrations the subject area. Una McMahon-Beattie and Chris Strugnell School of Hotel, Leisure and Tourism, University of Ulster, BT37 0BQ, Northern Ireland 27Book Review
Global Backlash: Citizen Initiatives for a Just World Economy. Ed. by Robin Broad (2002). Blue Ridge Summit, PA, USA. Published by Rowman & Littlefield. $US35.00, £27.00. ISBN 0-7425-1034-4 (Paperback). http://www.rowmanlittlefield.com 1-800-462-6420
[email protected] (You can get sample chapters at the website)
88
This is a book worth buying if you are interested in the global movement for a more democratic, sustainable and egalitarian future that is being threatened by economic globalization driven by international financial institutions, transnational corporations and the market economy orthodoxy. Robin Broad has pulled together a wide diversity of voices and views on the debate (pros and cons) over economic globalization (Part 1), what are its roots (Part 2), how can international economic trade be done differently (Part 3), is it possible to hold transnational corporations accountable for their actions (Part 4), and how do we do globalization differently, the ‘backlash’ part of the book title (Part 5)? The book’s 350 pages are very equally divided between these five parts. There are about eight articles in each section (averaging about four pages each). By articles I mean that Broad, as editor, has compiled a collection of close to 50 articles from a myriad of sources and organized them into this reader. He provides full references for all articles at the end of the book so the reader can access the full article. He deleted parts of each article to make it short enough to be included in the reader, yet left it germane to the topic being discussed in each of the five parts. At first, I thought this approach could mean that important sections would be left out of the original. But, I read almost all of these articles and did not once feel that his editorial licence had compromised the original message. A job well done! Furthermore, the readings are very recent with about half from the decade of the 1990s (mostly 1998–99) and the other half from 2000 to 2001. A small collection of them is purposely chosen from the 1960s and 1970s for Part 2, the historical segment of the reader. Yes, as he admits, he is an American author and he recognizes that this will affect his analysis. But, and I agree, the collection of articles he has chosen ‘speak eloquently for themselves’ (p. 7) and did not leave me, a Canadian, feeling short-changed. Indeed, the diverse voices he included in the reader are a ‘who’s who’ of the global movement for a different future: Maude Barlow, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Subcomandante Marcos (a pseudonym for the man who leads the Chiapas resistance movement in Mexico), Jeremy Rifkin, Alan Thein Durning, Walden Bello, Kofi Annan and John Cavanagh, to name the ones that drew me to the book!
International Journal of Consumer Studies, 27, 1, January 2003, pp87–90
© 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Book Review
Put another way, if you ever wanted to know who to read and follow concerning the backlash against topdown economic globalization, this book identifies them (brief profiles are set out in a seven page list of organizations and people in the book, pp. 335–341). Also, there is a list of over 100 websites leading you to nongovernmental organizations that are ‘lashing back’ at the onslaught of economic globalization with an alternative approach. I wondered why Broad placed the history of events leading up to present-day globalization in the middle of the book. On p. 66, he maintains that it made sense to place the roots of globalization after a defence and critique of it (Part 1) but before the discussion of proposals, initiatives and debates from the backlash arising from organized NGOs and the less organized popular movement (Parts 3–5). I am not totally convinced that this is the best organizational approach but that is just a personal opinion. Having read this collection, you will come away with a much richer understanding of the intense, profound, penetrating context within which we live our daily lives and a well articulated and principled template to live it differently. As Richard Falk commented in his endorsement of the book . . . ‘it is indispensable reading for anyone who wants to understand the full range of discontents caused by corporate economic globalization and what the cures might be’. I also agree with Walden Bello’s endorsement that ‘it showcases the intellectual depth of the movement against corporate-driven globalization’. I think you will be enlightened if you read the entire book, or even if you read only selections from it. Enjoy the journey. Sue McGregor, PhD, Professor, http://www.consultmcgregor.com http://www.msvu.ca/PAX/index.html 27Book Review
The No-nonsense Guide to Fair Trade. David Ransom (2001). Toronto, ON, Canada. New Internationalist and Between the Lines Publishing (144 pages). ISBN 1896357-47-4. $CDN15.00, £7.00. http://www.newint.org and http://www.btlbooks.com/New_Titles/fairtrade.htm Although I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend this
© 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
book, I question the title chosen for it (to be discussed shortly). This short (144 pages, 4 ¥ 6 inch) and powerful book is written by David Ransom, editor of New Internationalist (NI) magazine. As he points out on p. 25, the book is drawn from accounts first published in the NI magazine over the past 10 years; articles and thoughts that had not been compiled into a single volume before. I appreciated the effort as I devour every issue of NI that I receive! The Foreword is written by Anita Roddick (of the Body Shop). I was a bit sceptical of this choice for endorsement for the book as the Body Shop has encountered criticism for the manner of its dealings with the Kayopo Indians, an indigenous group in Brazil (as recently as May 2002). I will leave that issue to each individual reader. The book includes a 20-page introduction followed by ‘case studies’ of free trade gone badly and fair trade trying to emerge as an alternative. There is a chapter on the maquilas (export-processing free trade zones) in Mexico, on coffee in Peru, cocoa in Ghana, cocoa in the UK (chocolateers and chocoholics), bananas in Guatemala and the Caribbean, and blue jean production. The chapter on blue jeans is included to illustrate the point that free trade compromises manufactured goods even more so than commodities (coffee, cocoa and bananas). The final chapter is titled ‘The infant (fair trade) among the giants (free trade)’ and, in too short a space, begins the discussion of why the time of fair trade has come. This is where I have a quandary about the title of the book. Although it is called the no-nonsense guide to fair trade , almost all of the content is on how free trade has totally abused labourers, human rights, killed communities, destroyed the environment and done irreparable harm to individual, family well being and quality of life in the Southern World, where 80% of the world’s population live. If you want a clear, easy-to-find discussion of what is fair trade , you will not find it in this book. You will find a solid discussion that provides justification for the need for fair trade and you will find stories and narratives from fair trade proponents in each of these countries who are struggling to trade differently. I say struggle because Ransom does a good job of sharing their stories of how hard it is to buck the system so that their labour benefits their families, communities and local environments. Ransom does a memorable job
International Journal of Consumer Studies, 27, 1, January 2003, pp87–90
89
Book Review
of painting a picture of the insidious power of the money system over the life system and of the incredibly subtle nuances and outright abuses involved in ensuring that the money system prevails over the community system. To make this even richer, he has interspersed throughout the book ‘little black boxes or vignettes’, which are compact gems of facts shared in charts, figures, diagrams and maps. Ransom notes that ‘Fair trade cannot get very far without confronting current economic orthodoxy’ (p. 28). I think that one of the most powerful effects of this book is Ransom’s success in doing just that; con-
fronting and unveiling the orthodoxy of market theory and the free trade mind-set. By revealing and debunking the economic beliefs and practices that are sanctioned by authority and tradition, and reframing the market from a fair, community, environmental perspective, he has respected the true, original 13th century meaning of the word trade : a path marked out by the passage of human feet (p. 9). Sue McGregor, PhD, Professor, http://www.consultmcgregor.com http://www.msvu.ca/PAX/index.html
[email protected]
90
International Journal of Consumer Studies, 27, 1, January 2003, pp87–90
© 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
