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CHOICE Review

Like its series predecessors, the contents of this book consist of previously unpublished papers originally presented at an annual conference. The 19 papers are divided into four sections: descriptions of a variety of forms of play; theories of play; games; and sport. Play is viewed as an important expressive behavior and mechanism of adaptation among persons of all ages. Games are presented as a form of play characterized by rules and competition. Finally, sport is characterized as sets of organized activity that straddle and combine work and leisure. As often occurs with books born of conference proceedings, the contributions are quite diverse in subject matter and uneven in quality. Readers interested in ethnography or education will find this a useful, if unintegrated, sampler of the varied functions of play and games for individuals and their social systems. Appropriate for advanced undergraduates and graduate students.-E. Wellin, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee