Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"This work will help shape and unify the field of play studies. I have not read its equal; in fact, there is nothing elsewhere quite like it."
--Scott G. Eberle, vice president for play studies at The Strong National Museum of Play
"
Play and the Human Condition is a book as ambitious as its title… An erudite reading of the vast tradition of play studies, from sociology and psychology to cultural anthropology. It is also an original contribution to understanding play--provocative, informative and enlightening."--
American Journal of Play "Profound and reasonable, accessible and well-written, and wide-ranging while confident of the details of past scholarship and current theory over a range of disciplines. This work will help shape and unify the field of play studies. I have not read its equal; in fact, there is nothing elsewhere quite like it."--Scott G. Eberle, vice president for play studies at The Strong National Museum of Play
"Thomas Henricks provides us with a completely new way of looking at children's play. He skillfully separates out the existing theories and then brings them back together to provide his own unique perspective. This book makes the most significant contribution to the field of play theory since Brian Sutton-Smith's seminal work,
The Ambiguity of Play. It is stimulating and challenging, but at the same time most enjoyable to read."--Fraser Brown, author of
Rethinking Children's Play"Students across disciplines will find here a thoughtful analysis of physiological, environmental, psychological, cultural, and social theories about how play changes and sustains people across generations. This timely work addresses the rapidly expanding knowledge and promise of play as well as trends such as consumerism and computer play that potentially diminish the spirit of play and quality of life across societies."--Joe L. Frost, author of
Play and Child Development
