They're going to tear down the most cherished building in your town for another strip mall. How do you stop it? Tom King, renowned expert on the heritage preservation process, explains to preservationists and other community activists the ins and outs of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act—the major federal law designed to protect historic places—and how it can be used to protect special places in your community. King will show you the scope of the law, how it is often misinterpreted or ignored by government agencies and developers, and how to use its provisions to force other to pay attention to your concerns. He explains the quirky role of the National Register and the importance of consultation in getting what you want. King provides you with numerous examples of how communities have used the Section 106 process to stop wanton development, and encourages you to do the same. King's guide will be the bible for any heritage preservation or community activist movement.

Progress, or what passes for it, dictates that whatever makes the most money or meets the needs of a particular authority determines whether a building or landscape will be conserved or blasted down to the mud. Often it seems that stakeholders in historical sites, whether they are involved through possession, long proximity or emotion, have little or no change of saving an historic space or building from burial under concrete parking lots. However, notes consultant King, who has been helping ordinary folks since the 1970s, section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act works. He steps readers through the process of review under the Act and alerts them to obstructive techniques by private and public authorities. He gives fair warning about what the Act can and cannot do, and he also gives advice on what to do after you have succeeded. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"A more authoritative witness on cultural resources work and compliance with the NHPA cannot be found." -Administrative Law Judge Andrew S. Pearlstein in Avista Corp. vs. US Bureau of Indian Affairs

Thomas F. King is one of the leading consultants in cultural resources management in the United States. He teaches dozens of workshops each year on this topic for SWCA Environmental Consultants and is author of five major books in the field including Cultural Resource Laws and Practice (2004) and Federal Planning and Historic Places (2000). Former staff member of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, he has been in the heritage management business for four decades.