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The Invention of Tradition (Canto Classics) Reissue Edition

by Eric Hobsbawm (Editor), Terence Ranger (Editor)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 157 ratings
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Many of the traditions which we think of as very ancient in their origins were not in fact sanctioned by long usage over the centuries, but were invented comparatively recently. This book explores examples of this process of invention – the creation of Welsh and Scottish 'national culture'; the elaboration of British royal rituals in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; the origins of imperial rituals in British India and Africa; and the attempts by radical movements to develop counter-traditions of their own. It addresses the complex interaction of past and present, bringing together historians and anthropologists in a fascinating study of ritual and symbolism which poses new questions for the understanding of our history.
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  1. ISBN-10
    9781107604674
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1107604674
  3. Edition
    Reissue
  4. Publisher
    Cambridge University Press
  5. Publication date
    March 26, 2012
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.43 x 0.75 x 8.51 inches
  8. Print length
    324 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Book Description

A fascinating study of ritual and symbolism which poses new questions for the understanding of our history.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1107604672
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cambridge University Press; Reissue edition (March 26, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 324 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781107604674
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1107604674
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.01 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.43 x 0.75 x 8.51 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 157 ratings

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  1. Terence Ranger

    Terence Ranger

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  2. E. J. Hobsbawm

    E. J. Hobsbawm

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    Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm CH FRSL FBA (/ˈhɒbz.bɔːm/; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British Marxist historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism, and nationalism. His best-known works include his trilogy about what he called the "long 19th century" (The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848, The Age of Capital: 1848–1875 and The Age of Empire: 1875–1914), The Age of Extremes on the short 20th century, and an edited volume that introduced the influential idea of "invented traditions".

    Hobsbawm was born in Egypt but spent his childhood mostly in Vienna and Berlin. Following the death of his parents and the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, Hobsbawm moved to London with his adoptive family, then obtained his PhD in history at the University of Cambridge before serving in the Second World War. In 1998 he was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour. He was President of Birkbeck, University of London from 2002 until his death. In 2003 he received the Balzan Prize for European History since 1900 "for his brilliant analysis of the troubled history of twentieth-century Europe and for his ability to combine in-depth historical research with great literary talent."

    Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Rob Ward (Flickr: HayFestivalA-011.jpg) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
157 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Aran Joseph Canes
5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic, Albeit a Pernicious One
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2024
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The Invention of Tradition is a classic in Marxist-Critical scholarship, though it does contain some of its pernicious tendencies.

First, the positives. The opening two chapters are an ingenious unraveling of the stereotypes associated with Scotland and Wales. Historically, the Highlands of Scotland are shown to be derivative of Irish civilization. The bagpipes and kilt are proven to be no more than commercial artifacts of the 18th century.

But then the book suffers a bit in its arguments. The ornately done coronation of the English monarchy is shown to be more elegant than its predecessors—thanks to technology and resources—but it’s a stretch to call this invented. While the bagpipes were foisted on unsuspecting Scotsmen as their national instrument instead of the historical harp, monarchical traditions that date back to the Middle Ages but are now on TV for mass consumption isn’t invented tradition in the same sense.

As you can see, the book centers almost exclusively on Britain which is where I see the Marxist liability. It seems like the authors want to use the fact that many “hoary old” traditions date only to the nineteenth century to undermine every element of British culture. Nationalities are hokum, the monarchy is silly at best and public schools (American private schools) are the result of the imperial past.

In all, it seems like the collected authors are dissatisfied with the props the capitalist/liberal state relies on for stability. It’s not that the criticism is all off-based, it’s that there’s a lot of good in the liberal/capitalist order that I, for one, would be loathe to lose sight of.

So while this is some of the finest scholarship of modern Marxist historians, I can’t help but feel that its theme has an underlying pernicious effect. But, by all means, read it for yourself and see whether you agree that its authors are pushing for more than the mere recognition that democratic states also have myths/stories that bend or distort history.
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Jfd713
5.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly And Readable—A Rare Combination
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2021
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Excellent. Pretty impressive historians unpack how various traditions get manufactured. Good adjunct to provide depth for some who’s interested in something like Roland Barthes’s Mythologies or Victor Turner’s The Forest of Symbols. And you get Hobsbawn, who simply was (is) the best.
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Mark Howells
4.0 out of 5 stars The truth behind the tartans!
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2000
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Hugh Trevor-Roper's contribution to this book is priceless. In his chapter "Invention of Tradition: The Highland Tradition of Scotland", he details for the reader where the supposedly "ancient" costume of Scotland came from. The kilt was invented by an English Quaker about 1726 to allow his Highland workmen to more easily move while smelting the iron ore he was extracting. The kilt was thus an expression of the Industrial Revolution rather than an ancient freedom of the heather.
The "setts" of tartans purporting to show a particular pattern of plaid belonging to a particular Highland clan is an even more recent invention. The concept of a unified group wearing the same tartan began with the English formation of the Highland regiments in the 1740s and later. The Scottish cloth industry recognized a good thing when they saw it and with the help of the Scottish Romantic movement and with promotion by Sir Walter Scott, by the 1820s, Clan/tartan pattern books (which often disagreed with one another) were happily catering to this invented tradition.
Invented by mis-guided or plainly fraudulent "antiquarians", the concept of particular tartan patterns being associated with a specific Clan is one of the long-running jokes played by the Scots on the rest of the world. Rather like the game of golf.
44 people found this helpful
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Costanza Piccolomini
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2016
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Very glad to have found a copy of this book. Important to consider the circulation of cultural myths as opposed to stories based in reality, in light of the current exposure of the "fake news" phenomenon.
4 people found this helpful
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Lee Tae Hee
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2018
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Enjoyable and pleasant.
One person found this helpful
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C L Geigner
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2014
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Great
2 people found this helpful
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Euler Buff
3.0 out of 5 stars This is UNBELIEVABLY dense and if you don't have a ...
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2015
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This is UNBELIEVABLY dense and if you don't have a wicked case of Anglophilia (I don't) I doubt you will find this very engaging. That is all the more a shame because the authors are clearly subject matter experts and bring a lot of interesting information to the table. For me, this didn't make up for the mental effort required to keep up with obscure Welsh words (see "eisteddfodau") and names in order to hold onto the big picture.
5 people found this helpful
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Felipe Costa Carneiro
5.0 out of 5 stars Nota
Reviewed in Brazil on January 8, 2024
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Brian
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent Book of the highest academic standard and a must for all serious socio-political historians
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2013
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I read this book while studying a post-grad course in history and had been looking for it for a while. The book is well written in a style that is easy to understand with the reader needing no previous knowledge of the subject. The authors describe how the cultural traditions that we assume have developed organically throughout the ages have in fact been reinvented, or in most cases invented, during the 19th century usually by the middleclass intelligentsia. It focuses on the cultural revivals that took place in Ireland and Wales and the origins of Scottish cultural traditions and how it was fabricated. The credentials of the authors, as historical and political writers, are beyond reproach and in this book they give a fascinating insight into how notions of national identity and culture are developed and manipulated and remind us how ethereal and subjective ideas of cultural nationalism are and how they are social and psychological constructs. One need only look at the development of the Ulster-Scots tradition in recent time to see the invention of tradition in action. The book reminds us that cultural nationalisms develop in opposition to each other and are socially divisive and can lead to more than just the simple, innocent pursuit of quaint regional customs, traditions and the differences in cultural idiosyncrasies. The book arrived on time and in very good condition.
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alison elliott
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb academic text.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 10, 2020
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Just what I needed for my dissertation.
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Student Crystal
4.0 out of 5 stars Very wordy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2023
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Found it very dry and wordy. The factual information is interesting, but had to read a lot of padding to get to the point. Needless to say, I only read the parts I really needed and probably won’t be reading the whole of it, which is a shame because I am interested in the subject matter.
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Chantrait Laetitia
3.0 out of 5 stars Une lecture ludique et pertinente
Reviewed in France on June 4, 2017
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Une analyse approfondie de l'apparition d'une tradition dans les sociétés contemporaines. Ce livre déconstruit un certain nombre de clichés et d'idées préconçues.
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