Contrary to popular perceptions, cultural heritage is not given, but constantly in the making: a construction subject to dynamic processes of (re)inventing culture within particular social formations and bound to particular forms of mediation. Yet the appeal of cultural heritage often rests on its denial of being a fabrication, its promise to provide an essential ground to social-cultural identities. Taking this paradoxical feature as a point of departure, and anchoring the discussion to two heuristic concepts—the "politics of authentication" and "aesthetics of persuasion"—the chapters herein explore how this tension is central to the dynamics of heritage formation worldwide.

If you were choosing a physician to perform a life-saving task for yourself or a loved one, would you choose a lesser-qualified physician because the better-qualified one had social or political views inconsistent with your own? Wouldn't common sense tell you that regardless of your personal disagreements, the better-qualified physician would always be the best choice? If you think so, then you are already following one of the foundational teachings of ethical pragmatism (EP)-a common sense philosophy that stands as a simple guide for finding clear perspectives on how to achieve goals in the most beneficial way. The first part of The Essence of Ethical Pragmatism (known as EP) explains the philosophy, its development and its justifications. The second part of the book shows how the philosophy can be implemented to better our lives with a number of examples that involve issues challenging us today.

In a world where ridiculously hyped tomes promising instant financial euphoria for ordinary citizens now vie with counsel on health and sex in every bookstore, old-fashioned common sense still takes the prize. Most of the would-be gurus, not to mention their customers, would hare been better off to read this one first." -From the foreword by Louis Rukeyser Timeless, common sense investment advice from an uncommonly sensible market observer "The small investor frequently inquires whether a particular stock represents a safe speculation. His is a fantastic quest, something like a search for dry water, or still motion." "The success magazines are seemingly developed on the theory that, if everyone works diligently enough, 110 million bank presidencies will open up." ".unless their judgment is extraordinarily discriminating, those who 'get in on the ground floor' are more than likely to end up in the basement." "To succeed fully, an individual must gain control of himself and regulate potential wayward tendencies which exist more or less in all individuals and which, if uncontrolled, lead him astray financially. Before he can obtain economic independence through his own efforts, he must first be master of his own soul.