ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author describes his working in Cultural Resource Management (CRM) archaeology and historic preservation in many different roles and he have seen first-hand some of the problems of the Topsy-like growth of the field. And he have seen the increasing use of archaeology and other kinds of cultural resources, by CRM professionals, as legal impediments in an effort to prevent development, private as well as public. As a result of these observations, if a genie were to give three wishes to author, he would ask for three things beginning with "B": balance, better choices, and public benefit. Although many individuals and some CRM organizations attempt to meet the needs for both synthesis and public engagement to the extent that they can, synthesis is expensive, time-consuming, and rapidly outdated and public engagement is only occasionally funded in contract work. The practice of CRM grew explosively during the final decades of the twentieth century and into the first decade of the twenty-first.
