Working at Play: A History of Vacations in the United States

In Working at Play, Cindy 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, 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 grew with it. Religious camp grounds, where gambling, drinking, and bathing on Sundays were prohibited, became established resorts. At the same time 'self improvement' vacations began to flourish, allowing a middle class still uncomfortable with the notion of leisure to feel productive while at play. 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.

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

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.

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 "Working At Play is an historical tour de force. Meticulously and imaginatively researched, written with wit and style, smartly illustrated with period photographs, and persuasively argued, Cindy Aron's new book fills in a very large gap in our own history by describing the critical role played by vacation resorts, vacationers, and leisure activities in the making of the modern American middle class and the shaping of its vexed and fluid gender relationships. From its first chapter on early 19th-century journeys for 'health recreation' to its concluding chapter on vacationing during the Depression, Working At Play, like the perfect vacation, entertains and enlightens its readers. It should enjoy a huge audience among academics and the general public."--David Nasaw, The Graduate School of the City University of New York "Aron makes fascinating observations about such topics as sports and physical exercise for women, how concepts of public modesty changed with the 'bathing costume' and the role social reformers and charitable groups played in both expanding and limiting the vacation possibilities for immigrants and the inner-city poor. Accessible and enlightening, Aron's social history deserves a popular and wide readership."--Publishers Weekly "An interesting if somewhat academic history of the American Vacation that examines the tension between the American work ethic and the concept of leisure."--Kirkus Reviews "Usually the only vacations I'm interested in are my own, so it comes as a pleasant surprise that Working at Play is so very, well, interesting."--Andrea Higbie, The New York Times Book Review "Scholarly, thoroughly entertaining, and perceptive"--The Wall Street Journal "[A] well researched, persuasive examination of vacation."--The Washington Post "Simply a lot of fun to read--the result of that rare combination, exhaustive research and engaging writing."--The Women's Review of Books "[A] pathbreaking study...Thoroughly researched, elegantly written, and painfully relevant to contemporary life, Aron's books is a treat for lay and scholarly reader alike." The International Journal of the History of Sport "Working at Play...[is] based on widespread and imaginative research...[An] intriguing excursion into American holiday habits and mindsets."--Business History