"We work," Aristotle wrote, "in order to have leisure." Today, this is still true. But is the leisure that Aristotle spoke of--the freedom to do nothing--the same as the leisure we look forward to each weekend?
There have always been breaks from the routine of work--taboo days, market days, public festivals, holy days--we couldn't survive without them. In Waiting for the Weekend, Witold Rybczynski unfolds the history and evolution of leisure time in Western civilization, from Aristotle, through the Middle Ages, to the present. Along the way, he explores how the psychological needs that leisure time seeks to fulfill have changed as the nature of work has changed.
About the Author :
Witold Rybczynski is an architect and Emeritus Professor of Urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of twenty-two books, including the bestselling Home, Charleston Fancy, and The Story of Architecture. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and the New York Times. He lives in Philadelphia. Nadia May has narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, has earned numerous Earphones Awards, and was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.
Review :
"It's about freedom, above all the freedom to do nothing, to be aimless, idle, and playful, to get lost in reverie, to consider the lilies...This is at its frequent best an enchanting book, and it can be read in a single weekend."
-- "Entertainment Weekly"
"An enchanting, strikingly profound meditation on the relationship between leisure and labor."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"This witty, readable, well-researched study...is certain to stimulate thinking. Recommended for general collections as well as history, sociology, business, and urban studies."
-- "Library Journal"
"With immense learnedness but an equivalent lightness and grace, Rybczynski...offers a companionable ramble along a winding pathway of cultural history in a quiet and thinking book, a kind of intellectual browse that's--well, perfect for a leisurely weekend's reading."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
