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Sign up todayThe Beach
This audiobook uses AI narration.
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Learn moreHere for the first time is the full story of the seashore: its natural and social history, spectacles, and scandals. The turquoise surf and sugary sand of the beach make it a favorite retreat today, but this wasn’t always so. The oceans of antiquity engendered contradictory feelings. Greek and Roman myths filled it with bellicose monsters and alluring sirens. Medieval Europeans feared immersion in water. But the rediscovery of its medicinal attractions in the seventeenth century soon glorified the beach as an avenue for social pursuits.
In this elegant and illuminating account, Lencek and Bosker chart the evolution of the seaside from the margins of civilization, when “exotic” meant remote and terrifying, to its present role as the center of recreation and escape. Sexuality, health, fashion, sport, beach architecture, and beachwear all have their place in the progression toward the beach resorts that represent nirvana for the twentieth-century pleasure seeker.
Lena Lenček and Gideon Bosker specialize in popular culture and have co-written more than ten books, including The Beach: A History of Paradise on Earth (a New York Times Notable Book for 1998) and Beaches, a photographic survey of the world’s most beautiful beaches. Lenček is a professor of Russian and the humanities at Reed College, and Bosker, a physician, is an assistant clinical professor of medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. They live in Portland, Oregon.
Gideon Bosker specializes in popular culture and has cowritten more than nine books, including Patio Daddy-O and Making Waves. He is an assistant clinical professor of medicine at Yale University School of Medicine.
Wanda McCaddon (d. 2023) narrated well over six hundred titles for major audiobook publishers, sometimes with the pseudonym Nadia May or Donada Peters. She earned the prestigious Audio Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine.
Reviews
“Scholarly and briskly good-humored.”
“A light and agreeable chronicle of the seashore.”
“This book should appeal to many readers because it is packed with good tidbits to ponder between naps on the beach.”
“A valuable addition to the literature on the cultural politics of leisure-time activities.”
“Lenček and Bosker are serious about the beach’s role in history and its appeal to the human imagination.”
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