In this provocative reassessment of our most enshrined cultural achievements, renowned Shakespeare scholar Gary Taylor reveals what most of the combatants of the Culture Wars seem to have missed: that culture is not what was done but what is remembered. Exploring cultural treasures from Stonehenge to Hollywood -- including Oedipus, the paintings of Velazquez, & the film "Casablanca" -- Taylor lays bare the competition among different memories as a struggle for survival, showing us why some great works have become Great Works while others have been left to the dustbin of history. Thoughtful, clear, & engaging, Cultural Selection sheds a critical new light on the continuing debate over our prized cultural icons.