Description:
This critical and empirically-rich book documents and analyses the rise and fall of the leisure society idea, examines its role in the study of leisure, and assesses its relevance to the challenges facing global society in the 21st Century.
Review Quotes:
"[Tony Veal] does a great job of offering a detailed overview of the leisure society debate and in setting the record straight by correcting some of the prevailing misconceptions about it. If anybody working within or outside leisure studies ever wanted to know what the predictions and ideas of leisure society were all about, they do not need to go any farther than this book." - Utsa Mukherjee, Birkbeck, University of London, Annals of Leisure Research
"If somebody wants to learn more about the history and the validity of the notion of the leisure society, Veal's publication is a must. This publication provides a remarkably detailed and accurate account of positions taken with regard to the leisure society by different authors, beginning from the 1930s until today ... to those who will try, in the future, to say something new about the concept of the leisure society. Please first read Tony Veal's book. He may have said it already. This is truly an encyclopedia of the leisure society." - Jiri Zuzanek, University of Waterloo, Loisir et Société / Society and Leisure
"Whatever Happened to the Leisure Society? authored by A. J. Veal invites the reader to explore the diverse range of scholarship around leisure, work and time. The discussions around leisure and labour remain essential for contemporary human societies due to its effect on human health and wellbeing." - Ashwin Tripathi, Indian Institute of Technology, Leisure Studies