Interpretation of Cultural and Natural Resources

by Douglas M. Knudson

Book Overview

This text explains cultural and natural environments and how to process information for the public in museums, parks, forests, and many other private and public interpretive agencies worldwide. Based... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0910251703
• ISBN13: 9780910251709
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Venture Publishing (PA)
• Length: 509 Pages
• Weight: 2.85 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Interpretation - from A to Z, and much more!

(This review refers to the 2nd Edition of the book) Let's make it clear: this is an excellent Book! By its volume almost an encyclopedia, by its nature a comprehensive textbook, 'Interpretation of Cultural and Natural Resources' will guide you through all aspects of the subject theme. The authors decided to accomplish a tremendously delicate task: to educate their readers on various facets of interpretation, inspiring them to keep up thinking of their own activity in the growing field of interpretation. And they realized that hard task as excellent interpreters - step by step, starting from basic but varied definitions through principles and forms of interpretations to the problems of interpretation management. The best quality of the book is the way in which the authors write - everything is explained here in a clear, economic, easy readable and instructive way. All sections and chapters follow logically and smoothly. Having taken an 'all-in' approach to their theme, the authors presented theoretical - mainly sociological and psychological - and practical aspects of interpretation. There is probably no important names from the field that had not be mentioned or cited in the book. A lot of figures serve as an additional 'prop' the authors used to help us understand systems, structures and connections. Examples of practices given in the book relate to the United States, but the authors acknowledged their emphasis on the environment they knew best. Besides, all examples are well described and explained, often illustrated by photographs, so that everyone can understand the 'message'. From this point of view, the book can serve as a good tool for self-education of novices as well as for improvement of practice in case of more experienced interpreters. And, finally, though the book is written by the three distinctive authors, there are no visible discrepancies, controversial comments or even differences in style of writing. The whole text, both its structure and its style, is appropriately leveled as much as possible, indicating a successful team work. When it comes to interpretation, start your exploration of the subject from this unique book. For most of us, this single book is more than enough if we want to understand what interpretation is and how can it be performed effectively. Keep it close to you at all times, you'll find yourself needing to consult it pretty often!