Leisure and Life through the Ages is a comprehensive account of eighteen countries from Europe to record developments in the field of leisure from a worldwide and comparative perspective. The coverage of the volume extends to Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. The book also has a summarising article on Europe in the beginning which provides the basic general characteristics of leisure in Europe. Yet it may as well be said that in spite of certain basic features of leisure in Europe many of these countries are entertaining different practices and characteristics. All these papers have a thorough discussion on the broader perspective of leisure as it has existed during different periods of history in respective countries. The book will appeal to all those interested in the fields of leisure studies, cultural studies and sociology in general. (jacket)