History of Leisure

Selected Sources

The Clemson University Libraries contain many sources of information about leisure and recreation during various historical time periods. This guide includes a list of possible books, how to find additional books, and databases that can be searched to find journal and magazine articles.

Books

All books are located in R.M. Cooper Library. Reference books are shelved on Level 4, all other books listed can be found on Level 1. All but Reference books can be checked out, please verify availability in the Library Catalog.

Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt (3100 B.C. - 332 B.C.)
By Lionel Casson. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ Press, 2001.
DT61 .C34 2001

Ancient Egyptians: Life in the Old Kingdom (3100 B.C. - 332 B.C.)
By Jill Kamil. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 1996.
DT61 .K33 1996

Minoans: Life in Bronze Age Crete (3000 B.C. - 1000 B.C.)
By Rodney Castleden. New York: Routledge, 1990.
DF220.3 .C37 1990

Sports and Games of the Ancients (776 B.C. – 476 A.D.)
By Steve Craig. Westport: Greenwood, 2002.
GV17 .C73 2002

Life and Learning in Ancient Athens (5th century B.C.)
By Richard W. Hibler. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1988.
DF275 .H48 1988

Everyday Life in Ancient Rome (30 B.C. - 284 A.D.)
By Lionel Casson. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998.
DG78 .C37 1998

Ancient Romans: How They Lived & Worked (753 B.C. - 540 A.D.)
By O.W. Dilke. Newton Abbot, England: David & Charles, 1975.
DG78 .D55

Sports and Games of Medieval Cultures (1066 - 1500)
By Sally Wilkins. Westport: Greenwood, 2002.
GV1200 .W55 2002

Pleasures & Pastimes in Medieval England (1066 - 1485)
By Compton Reeves. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Alan Sutton, 1995.
DA185 .R44 1995

Life in a Medieval Village (England, 1066 - 1485)
By Frances and Joseph Gies. New York: Harper & Row, 1990.
HN398 .E45 G54 1990

Recreation in the Renaissance: attitudes towards leisure and pastimes in European culture (1425-1675)
By Allessandro Arcangeli. New York: Palgrave, 2003.
GV73 .A73 2003

Sports and Games of the Renaissance (1450 – 1649)
By Andrew Leibs. Westport: Greenwood, 2004.
GV576 .L43 2004

Towns & Townspeople in the Fifteenth Century (England, 1400s)
Edited by John A.F. Thomson. Wolfboro, NH: Alan Sutton, 1988.
HT115 .T68 1988

Gentleman's Recreations: Accomplishments & Pastimes of the English Gentleman, 1580-1630
By Marcia Vale. Totowa, NJ: Rowman & Littlefield, 1977.
GV76 .E5 V34

People of Prowess: Sport, Leisure, & Labor in Early Anglo-America (1600-1775)
By Nancy Struna. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1996.
GV583 .S88 1996

American Eras (early American civilizations - 1889; 8 volumes)
Ed. by Vincent Tompkins. Detroit: Gale, 1997.
Reference E169.1 .A471979 1997

A Social History of Leisure Since 1600
By Gary Cross. State College, PA: Venture, 1990.
GV45 .C76 1990

Puritans at Play: Leisure & Recreation in Colonial New England (1600s & 1700s)
By Bruce C. Daniels. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.
GV54 .A11 D35 1995

Amusements and Sports in American Life (colonial period - 1939)
By Robert B. Weaver. New York: Greenwood Press, 1939.
GV53 .W4 1968

America Learns to Play: A History of Popular Recreation, 1607 - 1940
By Foster Dulles. New York: Peter Smith, 1952.
E161 .D88

Sports and Games of the 18th and 19th Centuries
By Robert Crego. Westport: Greenwood, 2003.
GV576 .C74 2003

Almanacs of American Life: Revolutionary America 1763 - 1800
By Thomas Purvis. New York: Facts on File, 1995.
Reference E162 .P86 1995

Leisure in the Industrial Revolution: 1780 - 1880
By Hugh Cunningham. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980.
GV76 .E5 C86 1980

Hard at Play: Leisure in America, 1840 - 1940
Edited by Kathryn Grover. Amherst: University of Massachusetts, 1992.
GV53 .H28 1992

Encyclopedia of Recreation and Leisure in America
Edited by Gary S. Cross. Farmington Hills: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2004.
Ref. GV53 .E53 2004

Cheap Amusements: working women and leisure in turn-of-the-century New York
By Kathy Peiss. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1986.
F124 .P38 1986

Eight Hours for What We Will: workers and leisure in an industrial city, 1870 – 1920
By Roy Rosenzweig. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
HD7395 .R4 R67 1983

American Decades: 1900 - 1999 (10 volumes)
Detroit: Gale Research.
Reference E169.12 .A419 1994

Fun and Games in Twentieth-century America: a historical guide to leisure
By Ralph Giordano. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2003.
GV53 .G56 2003

Women's Leisure in England, 1920 - 1960
By Claire Langhamer. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2000.
HQ1599 .E5 L36 2000

America Observed: from the 1940s to the 1980s
By Alistair Cooke. New York: Knopf, 1988.
E743 .C64 1988

Recreation & Leisure: the Changing Scene
By Janet R. MacLean, James A. Peterson, W. Donald Martin. New York: Macmillan, 1985.
GV53 .M23 1985b

Story of Leisure: Contexts, Concepts, & Current Controversy (prehistoric time - present)
By Jay Shivers. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 1997.
GV15 .S533

Sports in World History
By David G. McComb. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2004.
GV571 .M37 2004

Finding Additional Books

Search the Clemson Library Catalog to identify additional books in the library. Possible keyword searches:

(recreation or leisure) and histor?
(recreation or leisure) and united states
social life and rome (or other country)
social life and colonial period (or other time period)

Article Indexes

To find articles about leisure/recreation during specific time periods or places, search one of the databases listed on the library’s History page:

America History and Life
U.S. and Canadian history (prehistory to the present), 1964-present

Historical Abstracts
World history from 1450 to the present (excluding the United States and Canada), 1954-present

Reader’s Guide Retrospective
Popular general-interest periodicals published in the United States, 1890-1982

19th Century Masterfile
American and English periodical articles, 1786-1922

Iter
Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance

Expanded Academic
All subject areas, 1980-present

JSTOR
Extensive archives of journals in history and other disciplines

Created by:
Suzanne Rook Schilf, Reference Librarian
R.M. Cooper Library
Clemson University
Clemson, SC 29634
Updated August 29, 2005