Goldblatt University

This book provides a fascinating anthropological look at festivals and events around the world that have conflicting relationships with tourism. There is a neat introduction which examines the modern roles of festivals and events with regards to social change, and then we are off to the races, with 15 great case studies on interesting events that create / experience social change because of / in spite of “tourism.” The G8 Summit Protests in Quebec are analysed as a counter-culture movement discredited by some as a tourist activity, but which actually have a much more complex relationship with tourism and festival theories. On that note, the evolving face of Gay Pride festivals are analysed with the same concerns about consumerist tourism versus subversive politics. I also enjoyed the case study analysis of the Edinburgh Mela, which looks at the positioning of this organic festival alongside more commercial ventures. In summation, this is an easy-to-read book with a nice selection of thoughtful and entertaining case studies.