Bending the Future

"I see this book as being a requirement in the library of any preservation professional. It certainly will become an instant textbook for the many preservation programs across the country—at both the undergraduate and the graduate level."—Anthony C. Wood, author of Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Protect a City's Landmarks

"Anyone who has ever admired an old building or wandered through an older neighborhood with pleasure will enjoy Bending the Future, a stellar collection of fifty short essays on the future of historic preservation in the United States. Editors Max Page and Marla R. Miller have invited historians, activists, preservationists, and designers to argue about American landscapes and buildings: What must we save? What can be demolished? Who cares? The authors address aesthetics along with social justice, economic inequality, and sustainability in a volume that will appeal to community organizers and local officials as well as university students in diverse fields."—Dolores Hayden, author of The Power of Place: Urban Landscapes as Public History

"The editors were not seeking a manifesto, but instead were challenging all of us to dig deep and challenge our assumptions as we look to the future. . . . There is a wideness and optimism to the thought in Bending the Future that bodes well for the next 50 years."—Saving Places Blog

"The most compelling essays were those that are the most specific; you can almost feel the effort it took for each author to stay away from glittering generalities and instead put forth concrete suggestions for change. Some of the most interesting ideas came from essays like 'Historic Preservation: Diversity in Practice and Stewardship' by Everett Fly, who offered specific ideas about new ways to educate and train preservation professionals. . . . Other compelling ideas ranged from illustrating innovative techniques for how to use digital technology to layer information, to suggesting new ways to structure property ownership in order to facilitate stewardship and future preservation. . . . I was inspired by the creativity and forward-thinking ideas expressed across the collection of essays."—OffCite