In a broad sweep from Central Europe to Ireland and from the Sixteenth to the early Nineteenth-century, this work puts the Jewish community and its rabbinic and 'lay' leaders at the centre of Jewish history. Of surpassing value is Kochan's treatment of the community not only as a religious but also as a political unit. It shows the community at grips with the Reformation and the introduction of the ghetto system in the Italian states. Thence to the great maritime centre of Venice, Amsterdam, Hamburg and London, under the dominance of the Sephardi exiles from Spain and Portugal; and also to the metropolitan centres of Prague, Vienna and Berlin and the liaison of their court-Jews with the Hapsburgs, Bourbons and Hohenzollerns. This was not achieved without severe tension inside the communities and, whilst eschewing the concept of class-struggle, Kochan's analysis of the clash of interests between the few wealthy and the multitude of poor Jews raises doubts about the whole notion of 'community'.

The sociology of leisure is an important part of most leisure and recreation management degree and leisure studies BTEC courses. This book is designed to provide essential material in an accessible form for students. It draws together 24 classic readings which provide comprehensive coverage of key conceptual debates in the sociology of leisure.

Contents:
Contemporary trends. Introduction. Leisure in Britain: Great Britain: socioeconomic polarisation and the implications for leisure - K Roberts. Activities.
Leisure and common experiences. Introduction. Work and leisure. Towards a theory of work and leisure - S Parker.. Work and its corollaries - K Roberts.
Leisure and the family. Leisure and the family - J R Kelly.. Coming home to roost - J Clarke and C Critcher.
Leisure and the life cycle. Leisure and the family life cycle - R and R Rapoport. What do kids get out of pop music and football? - P Corrigan. Leisure time use by the elderly and leisure provision for the elderly - M Abrams. Activities.
Leisure and social relations. Introduction. Class and leisure. From leisure class to leisure society - J Seabroke. Leisure in Ashton - N Dennis, F Henriques, C Slaughter.
Gender and leisure. Introduction. Boys muscle in where angels fear to tread - girls sub-cultures and physical activities - Sheila Scraton. Women's leisure today - E Green, S Hebron and D Woodward.
Ethnicity and leisure. Body talk: images of sport in a multi-racial school - B Carrington and E Wood.. Gender, race and power: the challenge to youth work practice - P Parmar. Activities.
Types of leisure provision. Introduction. Commercial provision. If you can't stand the heat get off the beach: the UK holiday business - G Thompson. A participant observer study of a 'rough' working-class pub - M Smith.
Voluntary provision. Mutual Aid in leisure - J Bishop and P Hoggett. The Hidden Musicians - R Finnegan.
Public provision. Leisure in the welfare state - J Wilson. Sport and the state - G Whannel. Activities.
Theories and prognostications. Introduction. Sociological theory. The pluralist scenario - K Roberts. Leisure and inequality - J Clarke and C Critcher.. Feminism and leisure studies - R Deem. Leisure and the future. The leisure forecasting tradition - A J Veal. Activities. Index.

This book explores the new politics of leisure and pleasure in relation to a range of popular activities. Current generations in Western societies are essentially recipients of the changes that the Sixties - fabled decade of sex, drugs and rock n' roll - left behind. In their leisure lives - whether drinking, reading, surfing the net, taking drugs, going to a comedy gig, watching TV, taking a holiday, downloading music, supporting a football club, having a bet, having sex or simply roaming the countryside - people seem to enjoy unprecedented freedoms. But what are these freedoms? How are they exercised? And to what extent have traditional controls been relinquished?