An introductory text that gathers together state of the art information in leisure science and practice, reflecting a wide range of literature from the disciplines of sociology, psychology, economics, political science, and anthropology. More than a text that teaches the foundational meanings and roles of leisure. Pastimes is also a point of view. This text presents leisure as a human phenomenon that is individual and collective, vital for survival, frivolous, historical, contemporary, good, and bad.