Reviews for Monument Wars: Washington, D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape

The average rating for Monument Wars: Washington, D.C., the National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-06-11 00:00:00 Fabrice Nosy This book traces the development of the mall in Washington D.C., focusing on the construction of the Washington Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the creation of the entire area as a unified landscape as opposed to its original hodgepodge of uncoordinated memorials, and eventually the addition of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. Of particular note is how savage relates the contemporary discussions of memorial design and purpose to the political debates of the times. For example, many Federalists liked the idea of memorials as symbols of state power, whereas their opponents preferred that memorials be less didactic, or that there not be memorials at all, arguing that in a democracy, memorials are best written on the hearts and minds of the people themselves. However, similar to the Linenthal collection, this book shows that memory of wars, particularly the Revolution, Civil War, and eventually Vietnam and World War 2, all contribute to Americans' sense of identity. Thus, memorials become a statement not only of the memory of war, but of the nation's identity itself. The Vietnam memorial is an interesting case study, as the design is not meant to provide commemoration, but rather to foster healing from a traumatic event. It was the first of a trend of "victim memorials" that encourage participation from the viewer. Savage contrasts this with the more recent World War 2 memorial, which glosses over the loss of war, physically separating viewers from symbols, inviting them to view heroic deeds from afar, rather than ask honest questions about the nature of that conflict. This work speaks more about issues of memory rather than public history specifically, although the two are clearly related, and many of the themes discussed in Linenthal are explored here in a slightly different context. The design of memorials, like other public history projects that deal with military topics, must endure the tension between education and commemoration. The Vietnam Memorial adds a third element to that mixture: healing. Because American national identity is so connected to the country's major wars, military public history can be particularly volatile. This is evident in recent additions to the Vietnam wall that emphasize commemoration, including a statue, flagpole, and two inscriptions that are in direct contrast to the stated goal of the original design. The World War 2 memorial also can be seen as a direct rebuttal to the Vietnam wall.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-11-11 00:00:00 Glenn Steelman "Monument Wars" tells the story of the National Mall in Washington DC, from the original plan by Pierre L'Enfant to the establishment of such monuments as those for the Vietnam Veterans and Franklin Roosevelt (but it was published before the Martin Luther King Memorial was developed). The Mall has undergone many changes since the original plan. As recently as the late 1800s, it had more of the look of a wild forest than the manicured space surrounded by stately museums that we see today. As those changes took place, monuments and memorials were planned from the west side of the Capitol all the way to the Lincoln Memorial - and almost every one of them had detractors who fought for changes, sometimes successfully and sometimes not. It is a great story!