Working at play : a history of vacations in the United States
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Working at play : a history of vacations in the United States
Oxford University Press, 1999
- pbk
Available at / 23 libraries
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 263-314) and index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
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ISBN 9780195055849
Description
This text chronicles the history of vacationing in America since the early part of the 19th century. It is concerned with how, when, and why vacationing came to be part of American life, charting this social and cultural institution as it grew from the custom of a small elite in the early 19th century to a mass phenomenon on the eve of World War II. It looks at American cultural anxieties about vacations and the constant struggle Americans have engaged in with the notion of taking time off from work. Utilizing diaries and photographs, Aron looks at many popular American vacation spots and types of vacations, including self-improvement vacations, resort vacations, touring vacations and camping vacations, including vacations for working class people and for Depression-era Americans. Among the vacation spots she discusses are Saratoga Springs, Niagara Falls, the Jersey Shore, Long Island, Chautauqua, Martha's Vineyard, Southern springs, world's fairs, and Yosemite, Yellowstone and other national parks.
- Volume
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pbk ISBN 9780195142341
Description
In Working at Play, Aron offers the first full-length history of how Americans have vacationed. In the early 19th century, Aron shows, vacations were taken for health more than for fun, as the wealthy travelled 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.
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
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
by "Nielsen BookData"