After reading this book, I will never look at statues or monuments the same way again. Thanks to the facts this books points out, I'm finally truly seeing what these homages stand for. This book is a must read if you want to challenge what you think you already know.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* great nonfiction read with so much cool info, would reread and may buy for my dad :)

History reminds us that symbols existed, were disparaged, and then removed from the public zeitgeist. The recent arguments over statues in the United States, as well as in the global community, only prove the shifting values experienced by communities will forever be moving as new symbols become favored and older monuments are seen as symbols of the past.

I will be writing a review for Penumbra quite soon for this one...for the magazine's Spring issue...enjoyed the text quite a bit. Learned a great deal about the history of these most racist of statues...but I also now more closely realize how context plays a huge role in the construction and destruction of these sites. Impressive work that speaks to institutional racism.

As someone who works within the heritage remit (as well as retail), on the fringe of the debates surrounding cultural heritage, this book was a must-read and I was delighted to be offered an ARC to review. I don't know much surrounding the American debate (I am UK based), but this job does a fantastic job weighing up the debate surrounding the place (or not) of statues that represent or were built or constructed as of part slave trade.

I will say I think the book will divide people, as does the whole debate surrounding the taking down, removal of statues and monuments. I would suggest anyone who wants to understand the intricacies of navigating the atrocities and the history of the USA. The way the book is written for me almost flows as if it is prose, or a story which in a way I suppose it is.

Will highly recommend this to both friends, family, colleagues and the public

A very timely book with plenty of good to say, and it is said well. Unfortunately, polarizing language about a polarizing topic will keep this book from making any difference. Those who already agree with the author will agree with the points she makes here, those who don't, won't.