Puritans at Play: Leisure and Recreation in Colonial New England

Rating:
Summary: Puritans at Play: not a contradiction in terms!
Review: Of all the groups in American history, the Puritans still have the biggest bum rap of them all. H.L. Mencken articulated this false view perfectly when he defined a Puritan as someone who laid awake at night, fretting that somebody, somewhere, was having a good time. While the Puritans did have strong beliefs over the appropriateness of certain entertainments (such as the theater, which they banned as a place of lies and the breeding ground of crime), they did believe that God intended there to be joy in life as well. One of their greatest joys was sex: so long as it was within marriage, the Puritans believed sex was necessary, wonderful, and to be practiced often. Indeed, when one man refused to have sex with his wife, he was excommunicated from the Church! Bruce Daniels' much-needed volume on leisure and recreation in colonial New England fills up a hole in our historical awareness of this intense group. I loved this book, almost as much as I loved Edmund Morgan's book, "The Puritan Family." This one is not to be missed by history buffs!

Rating:
Summary: Puritans at Play: not a contradiction in terms!
Review: Of all the groups in American history, the Puritans still have the biggest bum rap of them all. H.L. Mencken articulated this false view perfectly when he defined a Puritan as someone who laid awake at night, fretting that somebody, somewhere, was having a good time. While the Puritans did have strong beliefs over the appropriateness of certain entertainments (such as the theater, which they banned as a place of lies and the breeding ground of crime), they did believe that God intended there to be joy in life as well. One of their greatest joys was sex: so long as it was within marriage, the Puritans believed sex was necessary, wonderful, and to be practiced often. Indeed, when one man refused to have sex with his wife, he was excommunicated from the Church! Bruce Daniels' much-needed volume on leisure and recreation in colonial New England fills up a hole in our historical awareness of this intense group. I loved this book, almost as much as I loved Edmund Morgan's book, "The Puritan Family." This one is not to be missed by history buffs!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book that humanizes the Puritans
Review: The popular American view of Puritans is usually something out of Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter." That is, a bleak, dreary group of religious fanatics who take themselves entirely too seriously. While they did take their religion very seriously (your life on earth does determine whether you will spend eternity in heaven or hell, after all; it's best not to take chances), they did have fun. Bruce Daniels does an excellent job researching the relationship between Puritans and fun: What did they do?; How much time did they spend doing it?; What DIDN'T they do that might surprise us?; Did some groups have fun one way while others had fun another way?; and the all important question for historians: Why?

Two themes run through Daniels' work: the Puritan ideal with regards to fun is that recreational activities should a) not be sinful b) give one rest so that he or she can serve the Lord more efficiently c) be productive and d) not be an end unto itself. The second theme that runs through "Puritans at Play" is that, while the first generation of Puritans in America came pretty close to this ideal, as the years went on and New England became more heterogeneous, the ideal had great influence, but was viewed more as a guideline for recreation as opposed to a matter so grave as to have long-lasting (read: eternal) implications.

In this amazingly well-researched book, Daniels analyzed how reading (the ideal recreational activity in Puritan America), music, church related activities, public gatherings (such as public hangings or military training days), dancing, eating, sex, bars, gambling, and sports (among others) fit into both the Puritan ideal and the Puritan reality.

The beauty of this book is that Daniels tackles such an all-encompasing subject with apparent ease. I feel he has accomplished the goal he mentions in his preface, to write a book suitable for both the serious scholar and the recreational historian (although my one complaint is that his first chapter made for dry, difficult reading). From Chapter Two on, Daniels introduces the reader to Puritans on their own ground, always making sure to put things in a cultural context. I would definately recommend it to fellow amateur historians.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book that humanizes the Puritans
Review: The popular American view of Puritans is usually something out of Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter." That is, a bleak, dreary group of religious fanatics who take themselves entirely too seriously. While they did take their religion very seriously (your life on earth does determine whether you will spend eternity in heaven or hell, after all; it's best not to take chances), they did have fun. Bruce Daniels does an excellent job researching the relationship between Puritans and fun: What did they do?; How much time did they spend doing it?; What DIDN'T they do that might surprise us?; Did some groups have fun one way while others had fun another way?; and the all important question for historians: Why?

Two themes run through Daniels' work: the Puritan ideal with regards to fun is that recreational activities should a) not be sinful b) give one rest so that he or she can serve the Lord more efficiently c) be productive and d) not be an end unto itself. The second theme that runs through "Puritans at Play" is that, while the first generation of Puritans in America came pretty close to this ideal, as the years went on and New England became more heterogeneous, the ideal had great influence, but was viewed more as a guideline for recreation as opposed to a matter so grave as to have long-lasting (read: eternal) implications.

In this amazingly well-researched book, Daniels analyzed how reading (the ideal recreational activity in Puritan America), music, church related activities, public gatherings (such as public hangings or military training days), dancing, eating, sex, bars, gambling, and sports (among others) fit into both the Puritan ideal and the Puritan reality.

The beauty of this book is that Daniels tackles such an all-encompasing subject with apparent ease. I feel he has accomplished the goal he mentions in his preface, to write a book suitable for both the serious scholar and the recreational historian (although my one complaint is that his first chapter made for dry, difficult reading). From Chapter Two on, Daniels introduces the reader to Puritans on their own ground, always making sure to put things in a cultural context. I would definately recommend it to fellow amateur historians.