---
product_id: 12497729
title: "The Invention of Tradition (Canto Classics)"
price: "14.70 OMR"
currency: OMR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.com.om/products/12497729-the-invention-of-tradition-canto-classics
store_origin: OM
region: Oman
---

# The Invention of Tradition (Canto Classics)

**Price:** 14.70 OMR
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## Description

desertcart.com: The Invention of Tradition (Canto Classics): 9781107604674: Hobsbawm, Eric, Ranger, Terence: Books

Review: A Classic, Albeit a Pernicious One - 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.
Review: Scholarly And Readable—A Rare Combination - 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.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| ASIN  | 1107604672 |
| Best Sellers Rank | #247,840 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #79 in Customs & Traditions Social Sciences #232 in History (Books) #3,153 in World History (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (179) |
| Dimensions  | 5.43 x 0.75 x 8.51 inches |
| Edition  | Reissue |
| ISBN-10  | 9781107604674 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-1107604674 |
| Item Weight  | 1 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 324 pages |
| Publication date  | March 26, 2012 |
| Publisher  | Cambridge University Press |

## Images

![The Invention of Tradition (Canto Classics) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61OdyVsg3lL.jpg)
![The Invention of Tradition (Canto Classics) - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Rhk7VMP-L.jpg)
![The Invention of Tradition (Canto Classics) - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31E-pzV147L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Classic, Albeit a Pernicious One
*by A***S on January 9, 2024*

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.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Scholarly And Readable—A Rare Combination
*by J***3 on February 26, 2021*

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.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Of merit, but one must not overconclude from the essays
*by C***N on October 17, 2024*

A collection of essays by different historians that problematize the notion of clearly inherited traditions being taken at face value. The are a variety of different historiographic commitments in these essays, but the focus on traditions being conjured into being to legitimatize and problematize being a colonial subject runs as thread through all the texts--although of which relate to the British or continental European empires. This text can be abused to, however, discredit "traditions" that are beyond its scope and one should be wary with using thusly.

## Frequently Bought Together

- The Invention of Tradition (Canto Classics)
- Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism
- Nations and Nationalism (New Perspectives on the Past)

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*Last updated: 2026-02-26*