Book Reviews -- Leisure in a Changing America: A Multicultural Perspective by Richard Kraus

Kraus, Richard. (1994). Leisure in a Changing America: A Multicultural Perspective. Riverside, NJ: Macmillan Publishing Company, ISBN 002-3663022, $27.00 softcover, 416 pp.In the first chapter Richard Kraus states that his book is "written from a multicultural perspective (p. 17)," and that throughout it "American culture will be examined and illustrated from this pluralistic leisure perspective (p. 18)." Is it possible for one author from a Eurocentric framework to bring a multicultural point of view to a text? Yes. The question then becomes, does Kraus' Leisure in a Changing America: a Multicultural perspective accomplish it? Read on.The author's intent clearly seems to have been to present a multicultural view of leisure in America. The four part book (basic concepts and historical background; multiculturalism and four demographic variables; popular pursuits in American life; and goals, professionalism and future challenges), addresses a wide variety of topics within recreation and leisure, while providing some insight into the influences of diverse groups of people on leisure.In the first part, Kraus presents the basic concepts of leisure and a thorough historical background of the European American experience from Colonial times through the 20th century. Proceeding from a decidedly European perspective, he discusses definitions of leisure developed by early classical European philosophers, and then gives the history of the dominant recreation movement in the United States. In this respect, while acknowledging the controversy that has come with multiculturalism in education to "supplant what have been called Eurocentric approaches to the teaching of history, literature, and the other humanities (p. 17)," Kraus himself falls short of including other voices.The book's title implies that something new will be offered the reader regarding different cultures; however, there is no mention of early Asian, American Aboriginal, Egyptian or African philosophers' beliefs about the role or meaning of leisure within their cultures, and subsequent impacts on current leisure behavior. If, in fact, the text is written from a multicultural perspective, it is critical to acknowledge that the definitions cited are from European scholars and that there is no representation of people of color, or those from continents other than Europe.In the second part of the book, Kraus includes chapters on the influences by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social class and ability on leisure behavior. The discussion of leisure and ethnicity included African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian Americans and White Ethnics (which might be better described as European Americans). The focus is primarily on men's participation in sports and other leisure pursuits, leaving the reader to wonder about the leisure of women of color (the chapter on women focuses almost solely on European American women). When so little is known about particular groups of people, it is crucial that a greater explanation be given to the results of research; otherwise, the information runs the risk of supporting stereotypes in a factual manner, with little thought given to the factors that may be influencing research questions and data collection. …