Table of Contents

Preface: Veblen and Weber
by Ken McCormick

Introduction: Why Leisure?

Chapter One: Definitions of Leisure

Chapter Two: History and Attitudes Regarding Leisure

Chapter Three: The Economics of Leisure

Chapter Four: Less Work, More Play, and the Rise of Leisure

Chapter Five: The Rise of Expenditures on Leisure Goods and Services

Chapter Six: Patterns in Leisure for the Young and the Old

Chapter Seven: The Interaction of Leisure and Public Health

Chapter Eight: The Changing Workplace

Chapter Nine: The Transformation of the Domestic Economy

Chapter Ten: Commercialized Leisure in the Early 1900s

Chapter Eleven: Mass Entertainment to the Fore

Chapter Twelve: Improved Infrastructure and Leisure

Chapter Thirteen: Government and Leisure

Chapter Fourteen: Antitrust Issues and the Leisure Industries

Epilogue: More Leisure, Better Leisure, Cheaper Leisure

About the Author

David Surdam is an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Northern Iowa. He earned his doctorate under the supervision of Nobel-Prize Winner in Economics, Robert W. Fogel. He is the author of several books and articles pertaining to the economics of professional team sports and the American Civil War. He is currently working on books examining Major League Baseball during the 1920s and a history of business ethics.

Reviews

"As a volume to browse for entertainment, I recommend it. For its terrific bibliography of work on leisure in myriad fields, I heartily endorse it."

-- EH.NET
"David Surdam has written the definitive economic history of leisure in the United States. He leaves no stone unturned in his exploration of the causes of the growth of leisure, the developing market for it, and its impact on American life."

-- Michael Haupert, Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
"Surdam provides the definitive study of leisure in America, showing how-through changes in productivity-leisure has evolved and affected modern lifestyles both here and abroad. Surdam is a good place to start if you want to deeply understand the roots of economic development from which the all entertainment and media sectors have grown."

-- Harold L. Vogel, author of Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis
"Century of the Leisure Masses is an economic examination of what 20th-century Americans elected to do with their increasing leisure time. David Surdam, whose research embodies both economic history and sports economics, has combined his interests to explore this phenomenon. The economic theory and data he marshals are accessible; his case studies of specific industries and public policies highlight important issues."

-- Louis P. Cain, Department of Economics, Loyola University Chicago and Northwestern University