Thomas S. Henricks is the Danieley Professor of Sociology at Elon University and author of Play Reconsidered: Sociological Perspectives on Human Expression.

"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

• CoverTitleContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Variations on a Theme2. Play Compared to Other Behaviors3. Play as Sense-Making4. The Psychology of Play5. Play's Nature6. Play and the Physical Environment7. The Social Life of Play8. Cultural Play9. The Play of PossibilityReferencesIndex

Thomas S. Henricks is the Danieley Professor of Sociology at Elon University and author of Play Reconsidered: Sociological Perspectives on Human Expression.

"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

• CoverTitleContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Variations on a Theme2. Play Compared to Other Behaviors3. Play as Sense-Making4. The Psychology of Play5. Play's Nature6. Play and the Physical Environment7. The Social Life of Play8. Cultural Play9. The Play of PossibilityReferencesIndex