RaveThe Irish Times (IRE)Among the many revelations in Keith Lowe’s new book is that the great second World War memorials across the globe are rarely, if ever, a simple tribute to those who served, suffered and died. The monuments are as much representations of our identities and ourselves and of the ways we choose to use and abuse history ... Lowe’s book went to press before the current wave of anti-statue protests, but he notes of previous similar events that \'tearing down monuments does not solve our history; it simply drives that history underground. While a monument still stands, it will always need to be confronted, discussed\'. The way to deal with out-moded monuments is, rather, to move them, contextualise them and/or ridicule them, as the Lithuanians did when they despatched Soviet-era statuary to a \'Stalin’s World\' theme park ... it is a compelling and fascinating read.
