Synopses & Reviews
No one works harder at playing than Americans. Indeed, as Cindy Aron reveals in this intriguing account, the American vacation has seen a constant tension between labor and leisure, especially in the 19th and early 20th century, when we often struggled to protect ourselves from the sin of idleness.
In Working at Play, Aron offers the first full length history of how Americans have vacationed--from eighteenth-century planters who summered in Newport to twentieth-century urban workers who headed for camps in the hills. In the early nineteenth century, Aron shows, vacations were taken for health more than for fun, as the wealthy traveled to watering places, seeking cures for everything from consumption to rheumatism. But starting in the 1850s, the growth of a white collar middle class and the expansion of railroads made vacationing a mainstream activity. Aron charts this growth with grace and insight, tracing the rise of new vacation spots as the nation and the middle class blossomed. She shows how late nineteenth-century resorts became centers of competitive sports. Bowling, tennis, golf, hiking, swimming, and boating absorbed the hours. But as vacationing grew, she writes, fears of the dangers of idleness bloomed with it. Self improvement vacations flourished; religious camp grounds became established resorts, where gambling, drinking, and bathing on Sunday were banned. Asbury Park, named after Francis Asbury, the first American Methodist bishop, quickly became one of the most popular getaways for the devout.
With vivid detail and much insight, Working at Play offers a lively history of the vacation, throwing new light on the place of work and rest in American culture.
Review
'\"A fascinating slice of social history, Aron\'s book sheds light on a subject few have thought warranted serious study.\"--
Chicago Tribune\"Offers fascinating insights into American attitudes toward leisure.\"--Atlanta Journal-Constitution
\"In this fascinating study Aron shows that the idea of taking time away from work for leisure is a relatively recent development.\"--Booklist
\"An engaging and highly readable study of Americans and their vacations. Aron skillfully illuminates the complex connections between work and structured leisure from Methodist camp meetings through Chautauquan self-improvement to today\'s laptop computer at the beach.\" --Karen Halttunen, Professor of History, U.C. Davis
\"Aron\'s fascinating book reveals how vacations became a regular part of American life and why we still don\'t feel comfortable taking those vacations. There are many remarkable features to this book-crisp prose, impressive research, well-chosen quotes, and delightful anecdotes, for example. But most remarkable of all is that this important story has not been told before. We may have trouble taking pleasure in our vacations, but we can surely take pleasure in reading Aron\'s book.\" --Roy Rosenzweig, George Mason University
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About the Author
Cindy S. Aron is the author of
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Civil Service: Middle Class Workers in Victorian America, and is Professor of History at the University of Virginia. She lives in Richmond, Virginia.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One: Inventing Vacations
1. Recuperation and Recreation: The Pursuit of Health and Genteel Pleasures
2. "Summer hotels are everywhere": A Flood of Vacationers
3. "through the streets in bathing costumes": Resort Vacations, 1850-1900
4. "No late hours, no headache in the morning": Self-Improvement Vacations
5. "a jaunt... agreeable and instructive": The Vacationer as Tourist
6. "Unfashionable, but for once happy!": Camping Vacations
Part Two: Into the Twentieth Century
7. "Vacations do not appeal to them": Extending Vacations to the Working Class
8. Crossing Class and Racial Boundaries: Vacationing in the Early Twentieth Century
9. "It's worthwhile to get something from your holiday": Vacationing During the Depression
Epilogue
Notes
Index