This is a book about
the evolution of the “heritage” sector within the UK, and in
particular the way the State moved from being the awkward custodian
of a few royal relics to the principal actor in protecting the build
environment (and ends at the point when the State tried to outsource
this function).
However I got hooked
in by the way this is a case study on the development of the “State”
- how we got from the amateur public servant to the professional
civil servant. How we moved from absolutely minimal state
intervention to the current “Big State” - which despite forty
years of governments calling for the rolling back of the State seems
to have continued to grow – Departments were once small enough to
yield (for good or ill) to the influence of their leaders individual
preferences, priorities, and personality, but no more.
Maybe I am a geek
about the machinery of government, but I really enjoyed this book...
But I should note that it was never just the "men" from the Ministry, the book highlights the key role of a number of women so the title is unfortunate!
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