With my recent increased involvement in local politics due in large part to my position as executive director, I've been reading everything I can get my hands on about urban development and museums. The discussion about soft power really crystallized several things I've been pondering in my recent work, and I found that incredibly helpful. Also very helpful is the final chapter on ways museums can increase their soft power. I also appreciated the international focus of this book.

Like many collaborative works, some chapters were much stronger than others, and I did find myself skimming a lot. Some of this may be my own bias--most of the case studies focused on large art museums. As a small history museum in a major city, it was sometimes difficult to relate to some of these major transformative projects. I know that the Guggenheim in Bilbao is a stunning example of soft power and urban development, but how can I find lessons there to relate to my museum?