Many environmental educators are either required to do interpretation as part of their job or have been interpreters in the past. To those educators, Freeman Tilden and his book, Interpreting Our Heritage, are well-known.

Beck and Cable have used Tilden’s six principles of interpretation as the foundation of their book. The authors not only support his principles with modern theories of learning and communication, but they expand them by adding nine of their own principles.

Their seventh chapter, "Bringing the Past Alive", addresses historical interpretation under their principle "Every place has a history." They present the most common types of living history programs and examine some of the values and criticisms of those approaches. Balancing the entertainment element with the historical accuracy is very important explain the authors. Although we find that historical recreations are a powerful tool in interpretation, one needs to consider the appropriateness of reenacting certain events.

Each chapter has helpful and inspirational guidelines for different interpretive techniques. At times these suggestions are from other specialists and they are listed in separate boxes. Other boxes contain quotes and anecdotes that highlight the authors’ points and generally enrich the text. I found myself rereading the boxes after finishing the chapter and taking notes from them.

Interpretation is defined in a variety of ways throughout the book. At one point they explain that "Interpretation is a process, a rendering, by which visitors see, learn, experience and are inspired firsthand." In addition, Beck and Cable present numerous reasons to justify the value of interpretation. These range from explaining policies to protecting sites to creating a meaningful link to the past and future.

As an interpreter I was enlightened by their clarification of my role and by the methods I can use to be more successful. They explain that "The most effective interpreters orchestrate their interpretation to elicit a response from the audience…" and that "Interpreters must be skilled in communication and knowledgeable in natural and cultural history consistent with their site’s mission." Although these statements seem fairly basic they are important guides for beginning interpreters and good reminders for experienced ones.

Overall the book is an important addition to the field of interpretation and I would highly recommend it.

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