'At Leisure'
(option book in 'The Geography Collection')

At Leisure - UK£5.99 (ISBN 0 340 61868)

This is one of five option books available in 'The Geography Collection' to supplement the core text 'World Wide'. As such its structure follows that of the core text with each section introduced by a set of key ideas, which outline the major points of discussion contained within it. The four sections are:

There is also a quite substantial decision making exercise for students which involves compiling an environmental impact assessment for a leisure complex in Guildford, England. (A 1:10,000 map extract is printed on the inside front cover to help with this exercise.)

As with the core text there is plenty of data in all forms contained in this book and numerous exercises to test student understanding and skills. To help integrate the text within the broader curriculum there is also a thematic contents page showing which pages contains useful information for studying issues involving:

The book also contains two project suggestions which both entail field research at a local scale, making them viable projects wherever your school is situated. The projects are intended to apply some of the concepts dealt with in earlier in the book.

A list of useful addresses is provided at the back of the book along with a glossary. You should note however, that Tourism Concern's address has changed, (you can find their new address in the address book).

At Leisure provides a concise guide to the causes and consequences of the growth in leisure and tourism. It will prove very useful in a wide range of courses which cover leisure and tourism, not just geography. For these courses the book in its current format should provide an affordable option. For geography courses I would certainly prefer it to form part of an all embracing core text.

My thanks to Julia Morris at Hodder and Stoughton for providing a review copy of this book.