The Beach, Lena Len?ek and Gideon Bosker
The Beach, Lena Len?ek and Gideon Bosker
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The Beach
The History of Paradise on Earth

Author: Lena Len?ek and Gideon Bosker

Narrator: Nadia May

Unabridged: 13 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/02/2009

Categories: Nonfiction


Synopsis

Here 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 wasnt 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 twentiethcentury pleasure seeker.

Reviews

Goodreads review by K on April 16, 2022

For a topic as pleasurable as the beach and one that the authors clearly lose, this is a pretty tedious book. The co-authors are professors, and the writing feels like it. I was waiting for a quiz at the end: When was the first seaside hotel built in Southampton? What were canopies over bathing hous......more

Goodreads review by Emma on February 13, 2021

An engaging study on beaches and the evolving ways in which humans have interacted with them. A good chunk of this book has to do with the history of swimwear, and while I was hoping the book would be more focused on geology I did get sucked in to the fascinating fashion eras. I enjoyed it even thou......more

Goodreads review by Valerie on September 03, 2014

This book provided a lot of interesting facts about a number of popular beach towns, as well as the sociological changes which occurred to change the perception of the shoreline from something terrifying to a healthful retreat and eventually to a vast money-making resource for a few aggressive devel......more