Waiting for the Weekend Lib/E

Witold Rybczynski

ISBN 10: 145511734X ISBN 13: 9781455117345

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing, 2011

Synopsis

[Read by Wanda McCaddon]

Explore the history and the nature of the time we consider ''our own''.

''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 this title

About the Author

WITOLD RYBCZYNSKI has written about architecture for the New York Times, Time, the Atlantic, the New Yorker, and Slate, and is the author of the award-winning A Clearing in the Distance. He is the recipient of the National Building Museum's 2007 Vincent Scully Prize. He lives with his wife in Philadelphia, where he teaches at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design.

From AudioFile

This leisurely, thoughtful, cheerfully digressive work discusses just what weekends mean and what they have been throughout history. Unfortunately May reads at a relentless, clipped, and steady pace, much more like a Monday or a Tuesday than a weekend. Interesting stories and bits of history salvage the production for those who wish to add variety to a nonfiction collection. In spite of the reader's style, one can sometimes get a feel for the author's intent. However, the audio quality is also poor, with the sound levels varying greatly from tape to tape. J.D.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 145511734X
• ISBN 13: 9781455117345
• Binding: Audio CD
• Language: English