“[A] scrupulously researched and beautifully crafted account of how nineteenth-century Americans went in search of health, rest, and diversion.” —Lena Lencek and Gideon Bosker, coauthors of The Beach. The History of Paradise on Earth In First Resorts: Pursuing Pleasure at Saratoga Springs, Newport, and Coney Island, Jon Sterngass follows three of the best-known northeastern American resorts across a century of change. Saratoga Springs, Newport, and Coney Island began, he finds, as similar pleasure destinations, each of them featuring “grand” hotels where visitors swarmed public spaces such as verandas, dining rooms, and parlors. As the century progressed, however, Saratoga remained much the same, while Newport turned to private (and lavish) “cottages” and Coney Island shifted its focus to amusements for the masses. Fifty-nine illustrations enliven Sterngass’s unique study of the commodification of pleasure that occurred as capitalist values flourished, travel grew more accessible, and leisure time became democratized. These three resorts, he argues, served as forerunners of twentieth-century pleasure cities such as Aspen, Las Vegas, and Orlando. “An engaging, creative book replete with evocative illustrations and witty quotes . . . a pleasant read.” —Thomas A. Chambers, New York Academy of History “Sterngass’s discussions about privacy, community, commercialization, consumption, leisure, and the desire to be conspicuous are important and new. With its well-chosen illustrations, this is a handsome book as well as an important one.” —Kathryn Allamong Jacob, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University “Having mined every conceivable source about his three sites, Sterngass has presented a wealth of interesting material not only about the resort experience but also about the residents, politicians, and entrepreneurs who built them.” —Journal of American History

As Minnesota's tourism expanded beyond the hotels along the Mississippi and early railroad lines, small family resorts emerged. They catered to the simple pleasures of an outdoor enthusiast: a good fishing lake, a passable road, and a lodge with a cabin or two. As the demands of tourists shifted throughout the twentieth century, the state's resorts were dramatically altered. The Early Resorts of Minnesota:Tourism in the Land of 10,000 Lakes explains how resorts evolved, their prime locations, owners, amenities, and the rustic elegance that made Minnesota's resorts national icons. This book provides images from early tourism, with a website to help you further explore the history of Minnesota's treasures.

For review see: Peter Hulme, in New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids, vol. 71, no. 1 & 2 (1997); p. 107-109; Dennis J. Gayle, in The Hispanic American Historical Review, vol. 77, no. 1 (1997); p. 170-171.

During the early 1960s, local leaders in western and northwestern North Carolina were dedicated to developing winter recreational opportunities in the mountains. North Carolina's ski industry dates back to the winter of 1961-1962, when the Cataloochee resort in Maggie Valley developed the first ski slope in the state. Once thought impossible to make snow south of the Mason-Dixon Line, technological innovations in snowmaking allowed several other resorts to develop through the 1970s, including Appalachian Ski Mountain, Beech Mountain, Sugar Mountain, Wolf Ridge, and Ski Sapphire Valley, all of which still operate today. Images of smaller ski areas, such as Hound Ears, Seven Devils, and Mill Ridge, are featured to honor these now defunct clubs. Many of the present-day resorts have incorporated snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice-skating, and snow tubing, along with mountain biking trails for summer recreation on the slopes. North Carolina Ski Resorts showcases the rich recreational history of western and northwestern North Carolina.

This updated second edition of ""Resorts: Management and Operation"" addresses the expansion of the resort industry and provides practical, need-to-know information on the development and management of all aspects of these properties, which include ski areas, gaming properties, cruise ships, and spas.

Beginning in the 1860s, the first vestiges of the resorts of Lake County appeared around the sparkling pools of the regions many hot springs and upon the shores of Clear Lake. Lured by the supposed medicinal qualities of the water, people flocked to rustic campgrounds and cabins to take the cure for their ailments, drink, and bathe, staying for long periods each summer. Within a few years, ambitious entrepreneurs bottled the springs mineral waters and built more luxurious accommodations and amenities. Although the claims of curative waters lost sway over time, resorts equipped with extensive recreational facilities, dance floors, live music, bountiful food, hunting, fishing, and childrens entertainment continued to draw visitors in droves. Families filled the resorts in summers, and by the 1940s, large group and society meetings as well as conventions began to utilize the resorts on spring and fall weekends. Though few original resorts remain, today, in 2007, the regions business directory lists 51 Lake County resorts.

This edited volume offers an historical perspective on the creation of a global mass industry around skiing. By focusing on the ski resort as loci par excellence for global exchange, the contributors consider the development of skiing around the world during the crucial post-war years. With its global lens, Leisure Cultures and the Making of Modern Ski Resorts highlights both commonalities and differences between countries. Experts across various fields of research cover developments across the ski-able world, from Europe, Asia and America to Australia. Attention to media and material cultures reveals an insight into global fashions, consumption and ski cultures, and the impact of mainstream media in the 1960s and 1970s. This global and interdisciplinary approach will appeal to history, sociology, cultural and media research scholars interested in a cultural history of skiing, as well as those with more broad interests in globalization, consumption research, and knowledge transfer.

Histories of seaports and coastal resorts have usually been kept in separate compartments. This book brings them together and looks at how resort development affected historic ports during the rise and development of the seaside holiday in Europe from the 18th century to the 20th, and what the attributes of ports (fishing, harbour crafts, the whiff of the exotic, fishermen’s homes and families) contributed to the attractions of resorts. Case-studies drawn from across Europe, from Wales and the Netherlands to Norway, Latvia and Spain, bring original perspectives to bear on these histories and relationships, and consider their influence on seaside heritage and regeneration at a time when coastal settlements are increasingly using their past to secure their future. The book will interest academics in tourism studies, history, geography and cultural studies, as well as provide essential information and analysis for policy-makers in coastal regeneration.