This is a second-hand soft-cover book. Signed by the author.

Condition: The cover has light discolouring and light tan spotting, and light wear to the tips of 2 corners. There is light tan spotting to the edges of the compressed pages, the rest of the pages are clean and bright. The rest of the book has no faults.

The dimensions: 159 x 224 mm Pages: 308 Publisher: Auckland University Press Publication date: 2003

Leisure & Pleasure: Reshaping & Revealing the New Zealand Body 1900-1960 By Caroline Daley

This engaging book explores an unexpected aspect of New Zealand social history, the modern body at leisure. It begins by tracing the only New Zealand tour of Eugen Sandow, the most famous strongman of his age. Sandow’s body delighted his audiences and inspired many to reshape and then reveal their toned torsos. His rich New Zealand legacy is examined as Daley takes us through the gyms of the early twentieth century, the rise of beauty contests, the new crazes of swimming and sunbathing, the advent of organised nudism and the display of young bodies in parks and playgrounds. While many advocated bodily improvement for the sake of the nation’s wellbeing, Daley shows that not everyone was motivated by such civic desires. The pleasure of looking and being looked at, of having fun in the surf and sand or on the swings and roundabouts, is an understudied aspect of our past.

In uncovering it Daley argues for the need to broaden our conception of New Zealand history, and to move away from the common assumption that ours is a unique national story. With style and wit she sees the body beautiful in New Zealand as the local expression of a worldwide trend.

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