From museums and the preservation of old buildings to broader questions of community and identity, heritage is now a political issue.

This book explores what heritage means now heritage is big business and how it is used to encourage people to identify with particular places and 'traditions', now it is entangled with capitalism. Examining a range of questions, including the way contemporary societies use heritage in the creation and management of collective identities, and how heritage is involved with the complexities of multicultural societies.

As resources are poured into heritage and questions of identity enter into public discourse, this book shows how the heritage industry is used politically and commercially to shape the ways people represent themselves, and are represented, in diverse and hybrid societies.