Sociology: sport and leisure Books

Book SynopsisResearch on Indigenous participation in sport offers many opportunities to better understand the political issues of equality, empowerment, self-determination and protection of culture and identity. This volume compares and conceptualises the sociological significance of Indigenous sports in different international contexts. The contributions, all written by Indigenous scholars and those working directly in Indigenous/Native Studies units, provide unique studies of contemporary experiences of Indigenous sports participation. The papers investigate current understandings of Indigeneity found to circulate throughout sports, sports organisations and Indigenous communities. by (1): situating attitudes to racial and cultural difference within the broader sociological processes of post colonial Indigenous worlds (2): interrogating perceptions of Indigenous identity with reference to contemporary theories of identity drawn from Indigenous Studies and (3): providing insight to increased Indigenous participation, empowerment and personal development through sport with reference to sociological theory.Trade Review"The contributors cover wide swaths of the globe, including Canada, Norway, the US, New Zealand, Australia, Zambia, and South Africa, and they address myriad issues, ranging from sport and development, participation of indigenous peoples in their traditional sports and in contemporary global sport to depictions of indigenous sport in literature. Several engage with politically contentious issues involving globalization, sport, and the often-vulnerable and overlooked native peoples who are the real subjects of these explorations...This book will be most welcome for specialists, who will find that some contributions fill existing gaps in scholarship, and that others provide starting points for future research." - Choice Magazine, May 2014 Table of ContentsList of Contributors. Introduction. Foreword. No ‘Museum Piece’: Aboriginal Games and Cultural Contestation in Subarctic Canada. Lassoing and Reindeer Racing Versus ‘Universal’ Sports: Various Routes to Sámi Identity Through Sports. ‘A Reservation Hero is a Hero Forever’: Basketball, Irony, and Humor in the Novels of James Welch, Sherman Alexie, and Stephen Graham Jones. Neoliberalism as Neocolonialism?: Considerations on the Marketisation of Waka Ama in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Towards Cultural Competence: How Incorporating M?ori Values Could Benefit New Zealand Sport. Resisting Critical Analyses: Gatekeeping Issues with Australian Indigenous ‘Subjects’. Sport for Development in Zambia: The New or not so New Colonisation?. The Legacy of Jack Johnson on Aboriginal Australia. Indigenous Reconciliation Games: Selling Australian Football as the New Game to the New South Africa. Youth Development Through Recreation: Eurocentric Influences and Aboriginal Self-Determination. Paradigm Lost: Indigenous Games and Neoliberalism in the South African Context. Hope and Strength(s) Through Physical Activity for Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples. Uncomfortable Icons: Uneasiness, Expectations, and American Indians in Sport. Native Games: Indigenous Peoples and Sports in the Post-Colonial World. Research in the Sociology of Sport. Native Games: Indigenous Peoples and Sports in the Post-Colonial World. Copyright page.

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Book Synopsis'Life has become more joyous, comrades.' Josef Stalin, 1936Stalin's Russia is best known for its political repression, forced collectivization and general poverty. Caviar with Champagne presents an altogether different aspect of Stalin's rule that has never been fully analyzed - the creation of a luxury goods society. At the same time as millions were queuing for bread and starving, drastic changes took place in the cultural and economic policy of the country, which had important consequences for the development of Soviet material culture and the promotion of its ideals of consumption.The 1930s witnessed the first serious attempt to create a genuinely Soviet commercial culture that would rival the West. Government ministers took exploratory trips to America to learn about everything from fast food hamburgers to men's suits in Macy's. The government made intricate plans to produce high-quality luxury goods en masse, such as chocolate, caviar, perfume, liquor and assorted novelties. Perhaps the best symbol of this new cultural order was Soviet Champagne, which launched in 1936 with plans to produce millions of bottles by the end of the decade. Drawing on previously neglected archival material, Jukka Gronow examines how such new pleasures were advertised and enjoyed. He interprets Soviet-styled luxury goods as a form of kitsch and examines the ideological underpinnings behind their production.This new attitude toward consumption was accompanied by the promotion of new manners of everyday life. The process was not without serious ideological contradictions. Ironically, a factory worker living in the United States - the largest capitalist society in the world - would have been hard-pressed to afford caviar or champagne for a special occasion in the 1930s, but a Soviet worker theoretically could (assuming supplies were in stock). The Soviet example is unique since the luxury culture had to be created entirely from scratch, and the process was taken extremely serioTrade Review'Jukka Gronow describes the development in the hungry 1930s of a Soviet rhetoric of cultured living that privileged luxury commodities like champagne, caviar and perfume ... The thorough research in the archives it is based on makes Caviar with Champagne useful to scholars, and general readers will enjoy its vivid illustrations.'London Review of Books 'Jukka Gronow has applied his mastery of the every-day economy and taste cultures to the bewildering world of Stalinist consumerism. In an engaging style, he expertly explains how a luxury goods market came about in a socialist state in the midst of widespread poverty in the 1930s. Both Russians and foreign visitors familiar with Sovetskoe Shampanskoe and the old Soviet department stores and food and fashion shops will enjoy a thrill of discovery about their origins.' Richard Stites, Professor of History, Georgetown University'An excellent and innovative contribution to the study of consumer culture. By exploring in detail the

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Book SynopsisHe ? said, Go and wrestle him. So, I took him down and thus he ? thus permitted me to join the mission. - Samurah ibn Jundub (Companion of the Messenger of God ?)Sport has been a hallmark of every culture throughout history, and Islamic civilisation was no exception. At the time of the Messenger of God ?, noble arts such as Archery, Swordsmanship, Equitation and Wrestling were the established sports of the day. But how were these sports practised and what purpose did they serve? What emphasis does Islam place on martial arts?Drawing on hadith literature and classical texts, this short work looks at the art of wrestling as practised by early Muslims, including:- A brief history of wrestling in Arabia and amongst the Companions- A translation and commentary on the short treatise by the great 9th century Imam Jalaluddin as-Suyuti''s al-Musar?ah ila al-Mu?ar?ah (''Swiftly to Wrestling'').- A discussion on the objectives of sports in Islam with excerpts from Silat al-Riyadati bil-Din wa-Dawruha (''The Relation Between Exercise and Religion'') by the late Shaykh Muhammad ibn Alawi al-Maliki (1944-2004).In a time when sport is heavily commercialised, Prophetic Grappling hopes to inspire a new generation to turn to the noble example of the Messenger of God ? and use traditional martial arts as a means of spiritual, as well as physical, growth.

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Book SynopsisOver the past two decades there has been a rapid transformation of masculinities in the West, largely facilitated by a decline in cultural homophobia. The significant changes in the expression of masculinity, particularly among younger generations of men, have been particularly evident in men’s team sports, which have become an increasingly diverse and inclusive culture. Drawing upon work from a wide range of established and emerging international scholars, this handbook provides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary analysis of the contemporary relationship between masculinity and sport. It covers a range of areas including history, media, gender, sexuality, race, violence, and fandom, considering how they impact a range of different sports across the world. Students and scholars across many disciplines will find the unparalleled overview provided by these specially commissioned chapters an invaluable resource.Trade Review“For anyone wishing to learn more about masculinity(ies) and sport The Palgrave Handbook of Masculinity and Sport has to be a ‘must read’. … the book is very successful at covering a huge range of issues and sports and doing so in a manner that engages the reader. As such, I thoroughly recommend it for anyone interested in masculinities in relation to sport.” (Neil Carr, Annals of Leisure Research, September 29, 2020)Table of Contents1. Introducing the Palgrave Handbook of Masculinity and Sport; Rory Magrath, Jamie Cleland and Eric Anderson.- Part I: The Foundations of Masculinity and Sport.-2. Theories of men and masculinity, and their ability to account for positive change; Brittany Ralph and Steven Roberts.- 3. Arousing cheer: Exhibitionism in men’s sports from Weimar to the present; Erik Jensen.- 4. ‘Land of my fathers’: Reflections on the evolution of a modern sports club; Campbell Williams.- 5. Sexual abuse and masculine cultures: Reflections on the British football scandal of 2016; Kevin Dixon.- Part II: Sport’s Use in Making and Stratifying Men.- 6. ‘It used to be brutal, now it’s an art’: Changing negotiations of violence and masculinity in British karate; Chloe Maclean.- 7. Figurational sociology and masculine embodiment in male physical education; Mark Mierzwinski and Philippa Velija.- 8. From powerhouses to pixies and back: boys, men, and troubled masculinity in artistic gymnastics; Aaron Gurlly.- 9. “I probably shouldn’t say this, should I…but…”: Mischievous masculinities as a way for men to convey reflexivity and make choices in sporting sites; Kitty Nichols.- 10. The positive impact of trans inclusion in team Sports: Men’s roller derby; Dawn Fletcher.- 11. I have no idea what my body is now capable of, or should I say ‘not capable of’: The ageing male body in sport: To midlife and beyondMurray Drummond.- Part III: Sport, Masculinity, and the Media.- 12. “Man’s game:” Media, masculinity, and early Canadian hockey; Taylor McKee and Brittany Reid.- 13. Commodification and heroic masculinity: Interrogating race and the NFL quarterback in Super Bowl commercials; Lawrence A. Wenner.- 14. “I Hate Christian Laettner” and the persistence of hegemonic masculinity and heteronormativity in sporting cultures; Nathan Kalman-Lamb.- 15. Dance diversity on YouTube: How participatory culture encourages inclusive masculinities; Craig Owen and Sarah Riley.- 16. Making American white men great again: Tom Brady, Donald Trump, and the allure of white male omnipotence in post-Obama America; Kyle Kusz.- Part IV: The Relationship Between Masculinity and Sexuality.- 17. The man on the horse: Masculinity and sexuality in British horse racing; David Letts.- 18. Masculinity and inclusive rugby in the UK; Ken Muir, Keith Parry and Eric Anderson.- 19. Association football, masculinity, and sexuality: An evolving relationship; Jamie Cleland and Rory Magrath.- 20. “They were constantly harassing us and a lot of it was to do with our sexuality”: Masculinities, heteronormativity and homophobia in university-based sport; Catherine Phipps.- 21. From stoicism to bromance: millennial men’s friendships Ryan Scoats and Stefan Robinson.- 22. Inclusive masculinities in American high school athletics: An ethnography; Luis Emilio Morales; Part V: International Sporting Masculinities.- 23. Developing sport in a developing nation: Gendered challenges and considerations; Kerry Wardell.- 24. Boys in rhythmic gymnastics: Gymnasts’, parents’ and coaches’ perspectives from Southern Spain; Joaquin Piedra, Daniel Gallardo and George Jennings.- 25. Exploring the attitudes towards homosexuality of a semi-professional Swedish football team with an openly gay teammate; Connor Humphries, Lindsey Gaston, Rory Magrath and Adam White.- 26. Sport and masculinities in Sweden: Performance and the notion of gender equality; Håkan Larsson and Jesper Andreasson.- 27. Sport, masculinities and disabilities in Zimbabwe; Tafadzwa Rugoho.- 28. Turkish oil wrestling and the Western gaze: Hegemonic heteronormativity, Islamic body culture, and folk wrestling masculinities; Thomas Fabian.- 29. The reproduction of hegemonic masculinity in football fandom. An analysis of the performance of Polish ultras; Radosław Kossakowski, Dominik Antonowicz and Honorata Jakubowska.- 30. Is soccer just for machos?: The construction of masculinity in contemporary Peruvian kick-lit” stories and “kick-flicks”; Jesús Hidalgo Campos.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the rise, size and shape of the European fitness industry by using harmonised data as well as in-depth analyses of national surveys in fifteen European countries. Following an introduction to the socio-historical and conceptual aspects of fitness, the collection presents the scope of fitness as a business and participatory activity. Furthermore, both policy and governance issues as well as community and supply angles are considered. Drawing on this unique material, the book will appeal to students and scholars of sport business, sport economics, sport management, and social sport sciences, but also to administrators, policymakers and entrepreneurs in the international and national sport and health community.Table of Contents

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Book SynopsisThis book is the first to explore and compare football governance, fandom culture and supporter engagement in Europe. With a specific focus on supporter activism and campaigning, the collection provides a comparative study of several European countries. The authors argue that supporters, despite being the pillar or the ‘lifeblood’ of their club, see their role in football governance marginalised. The volume is unique in that it challenges the widely accepted assumption that membership football clubs encourage the democratic participation of supporters.Covering football fandom in both the traditional ‘big five’ leagues and non-‘big five’ countries such as Portugal, Turkey, Croatia, Poland and Czech Republic, the volume will be of interest to students and scholars across a range of disciplines, including sociology, history, sport management, sport governance and political science.Trade Review“The book is structured simply but clearly. The individual contributions are well-written and up-to-date in terms of literature and material. … It is highly stimulating that the book also provides references to approaches of comparative politics that so far have not (or just to a minor extent) been attributed to sport studies.” (Jürgen Mittag, Moving the Social, Vol. 61, 2019)Table of ContentsIntroduction; Borja García and Jinming Zheng.- Part I: Football Governance and Supporter Activism in the ‘Big Five’ European leagues .- 1. The Great Transformation of the English Game: Karl Polanyi and the Double Movement ‘Against Modern Football’.- David M. Webber.- 2. ‘I love going to watch Norwich’: The Experiences of a Transgender Football Fan; Jayne Caudwell.- 3. The Italian Ultras: From Local Divisions to National Co-Operation; Mark Doidge.- 4. Football Supporters’ Trusts in Italy: A Horizontal Survey and the Case of Sambenedettese; Osvaldo Croci.- Well Governed? Fan Representation in German Professional Football Clubs; Daniel Ziesche.- 6. C.A. Osasuna: Identity, Ownership and Governance in Spanish Club Football; Jim O’Brien.- Part II: Football Governance and Supporter Activism outside the 'Big Five’ European leagues.- 7. Football Club Ownership Model in the Republic of Croatia – A Possible Model for Supporters' Inclusion in Football Governance in South-East Europe?; Siniša Petrović, Marko Ivkošić, Petar Ceronja.- 8. Beyond the Pattern: Corruption, Hooligans, and Football Governance in Croatia; Loïc Tregoures.- 9. Benfica TV: Taking Control of the Communication Process; Fernando Borges.- 10. Between Civic Engagement and Politics: A Case Study of Bohemians Prague 1905 Supporters’ Trust; Dino Numerato.- 11. From the Bottom to the Premiership: The Significance of Supporters’ Movement in the Governance of Football Clubs in Poland; Radosław Kossakowski.- 12. Supporter Ownership in Turkish Football; Emir Güney.- Conclusions: The rising importance of supporter activism in European football; Jinming Zheng and Borja García.

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Book SynopsisFitness and health in neoliberal societies in the reflection of gender, age, and social status.- Health systems and social inequalities in comparison Germany USA.- Fitness studios and demographic change analysis of images of aging, fitness discourses, and trainer expertise.- Methodological foundation and methodological approach.- Interview study with women aged 60-80 in comparison Germany (Kirchzarten/Freiburg) USA (Amherst).- Summary and literature.

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Book SynopsisDanielle Williams, skydiver and founder of the online community Melanin Base Camp, profiles dozens of adventurers pushing the boundaries of inclusion and equity in the outdoors. These compelling narratives include a mother whose love of hiking led her to found a nonprofit to expose BIPOC children to the wonders of the outdoors and a mountain biker who, despite at first dealing with unwelcome glances and hostility on trails, went on to become a blogger who writes about justice and diversity in natural spaces.Also included is a guide to outdoor allyship that explores sometimes challenging topics to help all of us create a more inclusive community, whether you bike, climb, hike, or paddle. Join us as we work together to increase representation and opportunities for people of color in outdoor adventure sports.

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Book Synopsis"Indispensable history." -Sally Jenkins, bestselling author of The Right CallEvery decade brings change, but as Michael MacCambridge chronicles in THE BIG TIME, no decade in American sports history featured such convulsive cultural shifts as the 1970s. So many things happened during the decade-the move of sports into prime-time television, the beginning of athletes' gaining a sense of autonomy for their own careers, integration becoming-at least within sports-more of the rule than the exception, and the social revolution that brought females more decisively into sports, as athletes, coaches, executives, and spectators. More than politicians, musicians or actors, the decade in America was defined by its most exemplary athletes. The sweeping changes in the decade could be seen in the collective experience of Billie Jean King and Muhammad Ali, Henry Aaron and Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Joe Greene, Jack Nicklaus and Chris Evert, among others, who redefined the role of athletes and athletics in American culture. The Seventies witnessed the emergence of spectator sports as an ever-expanding mainstream phenomenon, as well as dramatic changes in the way athletes were paid, portrayed, and packaged. In tracing the epic narrative of how American sports was transformed in the Seventies, a larger story emerges: of how America itself changed, and how spectator sports moved decisively on a trajectory toward what it has become today, the last truly "big tent" in American culture.

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Book SynopsisSport in the Middle East has become a major issue in global affairs. The contributors to this timely volume discuss the intersection of political and cultural processes related to sport in the region. Eleven chapters trace the historical institutionalisation of sport and the role it has played in negotiating 'Western' culture. Sport is found to be a contested terrain where struggles are being fought over the inclusion of women, over competing definitions of national identity, over preserving social memory, and over press freedom. Also discussed are the implications of mega-sporting events for host countries, and how both elite sport policies and sports industries in the region are being shaped. Sport, Politics and Society in the Middle East draws on academic disciplines from the humanities and social sciences to offer in-depth, theoretically grounded, and richly empirical case studies. It employs diverse research methodologies, from ethnography and in-depth interviews to archival research, to make a lasting contribution to this critical subject.Trade Review'[The book] contains a great deal of interest for both students of sport and students of the Middle East.' -- Times Higher Education‘['Sports, Politics and Society in the Middle East'] provides unprecedented insight [and] is essential reading for students not only of sports and/or media but also for those interested in International Affairs, politics and culture, related to the MENA region.’ -- The Muslim World Book Review‘This is a worthy read for students and scholars of comparative politics, sociology, and athletic studies.’ -- CHOICE'A significant contribution to an as yet understudied but crucial aspect of the world's most troubled region. This wide-ranging volume provides invaluable perspectives, as sports increasingly moves centre stage in the Middle East's multiple conflicts.' -- James Dorsey, Senior Fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University and author of 'The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer''This groundbreaking volume offers ethnographically rich case studies highlighting the multiple, complex intersections between sports and other arenas in the Middle East: domestic and regional politics, business and economic investments, gender and family, youth culture, and education. This is a key contribution to the literature.' -- Andrea Stanton, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Denver'A must read for students and scholars interested in the study and examination of power dynamics around sport in the Middle East. This volume offers rich insights into everything from ethno-political tensions to gender to modernity to the business of sports.' -- Mahfoud Amara, Associate Professor in Sport Management and Policy, Qatar University‘Looks beyond the headlines and explores the role of sports in general, and soccer in particular, in the evolution of the modern Middle East over the last century … a valuable contribution.’

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Book SynopsisBrazil has done much to shape football, but how has football shaped Brazil? Despite the political and social importance of the beautiful game to the country, the subject has hitherto received little attention. This book presents groundbreaking work by historians and researchers from Brazil, the United States, Britain and France, who examine the political significance, in the broadest sense, of the sport in which Brazil has long been a world leader. The authors consider questions such as the relationship between football, the workplace and working class culture; the formation of Brazilian national identity; race relations; political and social movements; and the impact of the sport on social mobility. Contributions to the book range in time from the late nineteenth century, when the British first introduced the sport to Brazil, to the present day, as the 'country of football' prepares itself to host the 2014 World Cup, painting a vivid picture of the many ways in which football exists and functions in Brazil, both on and off the pitch.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents a kaleidoscopic view of the multidisciplinary field of research developed within Brazilian social sciences to study football as a major cultural and social phenomenon in the country. As a contributed volume, it brings together chapters authored by researchers from different disciplines, such as sociology, anthropology, political science, history, geography, economy, communication studies and physical education, who contributed to make Brazilian football a multifaceted object of study for the human and social sciences. The book is divided in four parts. The first two parts are dedicated to the "classic" areas, in which the best known research lines are concentrated: part one focuses on politics and history, while part two is dedicated to sociology and anthropology. The third part brings together studies from other four different areas: communication studies, geography, economy and physical education. The fourth part is organized not by disciplines, but around transversal themes, such as gender, violence, fans and racism. The varied approaches and different interpretations brought together in this book seek to provide an overview of the fertile academic debate that has stimulated the renewal of scientific research on football in Brazil, which makes Football and Social Sciences in Brazil a useful resource for researchers from different disciplines within the human and social sciences interested in the study of football as major cultural and social phenomenon all over the world. Table of Contents1.Football as a multifaceted object of academic studies in Brazil.- 2.Football and politics.- 3.“My concern was to play football”: relations between football and dictatorship.- 4.The political dimension of futebol-arte.- 5.1982 World Cup: Democratic winds in Spain and Brazil.-6. Brazilian football and history.- 7.Myths, football and national identity (1930-1983).- 8.Order & Progress on the Grandstands: Sports Journalism and the Genesis of uniformed football fans during the political regime of the Estado Novo (1937-1945).- 9.Sport and society in the writings of Roberto DaMatta.- 10.Neymar, football and the formation of a neoliberal culture.- 11.A modernity that is not complete? Ideas and interpretations about Brazilian football.- 12. FIFA, BRICS and the Soft Power discourse: analysis of the World Cup in South Africa, Brazil and Russia.- 13.Football and anthropology in Brazil.- 14.An ethnographic game of fluid categories of analysis.- 15. Garrincha, Pelé and Maradona: The sporting sacred in times of football icon veneration.- 16.When does the World Cup 2014 event start and end?.- 17.Football and communication studies in Brazil: Fences and crossroads of an indisciplinary field .- 18.Sport and the media in Brazil: vices and virtues of a secular marriage.- 19. World Cups’ geography: urban Brazil in 1950.- 20.Stadiums and arenas as privileged lenses to capture changes in urban space.- 21.The football industry in Brazil.- 22.The controversy over the introduction of the VAR in Brazil.- 23.Life projects, women and football.- 24.Brazil is Hexa: Marta’s Sporting Career.- 25.Gender expressions and the multiple practices of football in Brazil.- 26.Football, violence and democratic politics in Brazil.- 27.Narratives about football hooliganism in Brazil: (De)constructing the label "violent supporter".- 28.The experience of cheering in (so-called) “modern football”.- 29.Brazilian racism in Football.- 30."This is a reality": The racism narrated by black characters in Brazilian football.

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Book SynopsisChapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Situating NASCAR as a Cultural Space.- Chapter 3: Perceptions of Whiteness in NASCAR's Geographies.- Chapter 4: Black Placemaking in NASCAR Spaces.- Chapter 5: Moving Toward Institutional Change in NASCAR.- Chapter 6: Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisDesert Island Discs has run on BBC radio since 1942 and its archive is now accessible. This book is the first to assess the programme from a scholarly perspective. Chapters by musicologists, sociologists, and media scholars are complemented by personal spins by 'castaways', who reflect on talking publicly about the role of music in their lives.

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Book SynopsisFrom EverQuest to World of Warcraft, online games have evolved from the exclusive domain of computer geeks into an extraordinarily lucrative staple of the entertainment industry. People of all ages and from all walks of life now spend thousands of hoursand dollarspartaking in this popular new brand of escapism. But the line between fantasy and reality is starting to blur. Players have created virtual societies with governments and economies of their own whose currencies now trade against the dollar on eBay at rates higher than the yen. And the players who inhabit these synthetic worlds are starting to spend more time online than at their day jobs. In Synthetic Worlds, Edward Castronova offers the first comprehensive look at the online game industry, exploring its implications for business and culture alike. He starts with the players, giving us a revealing look into the everyday lives of the gamersoutlining what they do in their synthetic worlds and why. He then describes the economies inside these worlds to show how they might dramatically affect real world financial systems, from potential disruptions of markets to new business horizons. Ultimately, he explores the long-term social consequences of online games: If players can inhabit worlds that are more alluring and gratifying than reality, then how can the real world ever compete? Will a day ever come when we spend more time in these synthetic worlds than in our own? Or even more startling, will a day ever come when such questions no longer sound alarmist but instead seem obsolete? With more thanten million active players worldwideand with Microsoft and Sony pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into video game developmentonline games have become too big to ignore. Synthetic Worlds spearheads our efforts to come to terms with this virtual reality and its concrete effects. Illuminating. . . . Castronova's analysis of the economics of fun is intriguing.Virtual-world economies are designed to make the resulting game interesting and enjoyable for their inhabitants. Many games follow a rags-to-riches storyline, for example. But how can all the players end up in the top 10%? Simple: the upwardly mobile human players need only be a subset of the world's population. An underclass of computer-controlled 'bot'citizens, meanwhile, stays poor forever. Mr. Castronovaexplains all this with clarity, wit, and a merciful lack of academic jargon.The EconomistSynthetic Worlds is a surprisingly profound book about the social, political, and economic issues arising from the emergence of vast multiplayer games on the Internet. What Castronova has realized is that these games, where players contribute considerable labor in exchange for things they value, are not merely like real economies, they are real economies, displaying inflation, fraud, Chinese sweatshops, and some surprising in-game innovations.Tim Harford, Chronicle of Higher Education

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Book SynopsisA chess match seems as solitary an endeavor as there is in sports: two minds, on their own, in fierce opposition. In contrast, Gary Alan Fine argues that chess is a social duet: two players in silent dialogue who always take each other into account in their play. Surrounding that one-on-one contest is a community life that can be nearly as dramatic and intense as the across-the-board confrontation. Fine has spent years immersed in the communities of amateur and professional chess players, and with Players and Pawns he takes readers deep inside them, revealing a complex, brilliant, feisty world of commitment and conflict. Opening with a close look at a typical tournament in Atlantic City, Fine carries us from planning and setup through the climactic final day's match-ups between the weekend's top players, introducing us along the way to countless players and their relationships to the game. At tournaments like that one, as well as in locales as diverse as collegiate matches and communit

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Book SynopsisMidnight basketball may not have been invented in Chicago, but the City of Big Shoulders home of Michael Jordan and the Bulls is where it first came to national prominence. And it's also where Douglas Hartmann first began to think seriously about the audacious notion that organizing young men to run around in the wee hours of the night all trying to throw a leather ball through a metal hoop could constitute meaningful social policy. Organized in the 1980s and '90s by dozens of American cities, late-night basketball leagues were designed for social intervention, risk reduction, and crime prevention targeted at African American youth and young men. In Midnight Basketball, Hartmann traces the history of the program and the policy transformations of the period, while exploring the racial ideologies, cultural tensions, and institutional realities that shaped the entire field of sports-based social policy. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, the book also brings to life the actual, on-the-ground

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Book SynopsisIn Argentina, tango isn't just the national music it's a national brand. But ask any contemporary Argentine if they ever really listen to it and chances are the answer is no: tango hasn't been popular for more than fifty years. In this book, Morgan James Luker explores that odd paradox by tracing the many ways Argentina draws upon tango as a resource for a wide array of economic, social, and cultural that is to say, non-musical projects. In doing so, he illuminates new facets of all musical culture in an age of expediency when the value and meaning of the arts is less about the arts themselves and more about how they can be used. Luker traces the diverse and often contradictory ways tango is used in Argentina in activities ranging from state cultural policy-making to its export abroad as a cultural emblem, from the expanding nonprofit arts sector to tango-themed urban renewal projects. He shows how projects such as these are not peripheral to an otherwise real tango they are the absolu

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Book SynopsisIn Argentina, tango isn't just the national music it's a national brand. But ask any contemporary Argentine if they ever really listen to it and chances are the answer is no: tango hasn't been popular for more than fifty years. In this book, Morgan James Luker explores that odd paradox by tracing the many ways Argentina draws upon tango as a resource for a wide array of economic, social, and cultural that is to say, non-musical projects. In doing so, he illuminates new facets of all musical culture in an age of expediency when the value and meaning of the arts is less about the arts themselves and more about how they can be used. Luker traces the diverse and often contradictory ways tango is used in Argentina in activities ranging from state cultural policy-making to its export abroad as a cultural emblem, from the expanding nonprofit arts sector to tango-themed urban renewal projects. He shows how projects such as these are not peripheral to an otherwise real tango they are the absolu

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Book SynopsisExploring the links between class identity and vacationing, the text looks at the popularity of France's health resorts in the 19th century. It shows how spas were promoted as an ordered equivalent to the busy lives of the bourgeoisie, and this premier vacation made and was made by the bourgeoisie.

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