Spare Time in Texas: Recreation and History in the Lone Star State (review)

114Southwestern Historical QuarterlyJuly the Methodists in the establishment of die Texas Republic and their role in the Mexican War. The same could be said for another exciting chapter in the history, "The War Between the States," and the impact die conflict had on American religion , especially the dominant evangelical denomination of the period— Methodism. The authors submit no more than two pages about Methodism on the eve of the war, and nothing at all on the war itself. Surely, something could have been written about the Methodists who served as Confederate chaplains, in denominational humanitarian ministries, colportage work, or those who entered the ministry after the war. The adas is particularly strong in its coverage of African Americans, Spanishspeaking groups, Germans, Swedes, Bohemians, and Italian Methodists in the periods after the war, and in its chronicle of the holiness movements that sprang from Methodism such as the Church of the Nazarene and the Wesleyan Church. The authors also included over forty maps, more than two-dozen charts, and an index with over two thousand entries. The work is useful for those interested in American, southern, southwestern, or Texas Methodism. Readers of the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, especially those interested in the history of one of the most important and influential Christian religious bodies in Texas and the nation, will find much interesting material within the pages of this adas. Columbus Slate Community CollegeJames S. Baugess Spare Time in Texas: Recreation and History in the Lone Star State. By David G. McComb. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2008. Pp. 300. Illustrations, notes, bibliographic note, index. ISBN 9780292718708, $60.00 cloth; 9780292718890, $24.95 paper.) Emeritus Colorado State University history professor David G. McComb has a well-earned reputation for writing on a variety of important Texas themes, including histories of Houston and Galveston and a wonderful biography of the late Joe Frantz, among other efforts. In this new tome he takes on yet another vital, though certainly under-researched, aspect of Texas life: the history of leisure and recreation in the Lone Star State. The book commences with a quick definition of leisure (an individual's leftover time) and recreation (how people utilize individual and collective leisure). McComb notes that recreation has always comprised a wide variety of activities, including all forms of entertainment, rest, and rejuvenation. Thus, he casts a wide net in his analysis and discussion of Texans' recreational choices. McComb details activities, both licit and illicit, like prostitution, consumption of alcohol, gambling, visiting parks, the utilization of sport coliseums, theater, television, and radio. He also chronicles more tranquil pursuits like utilizing libraries and visiting zoos. This plethora of activities is covered in five well-written and annotated chapters. In addition, the author makes excellent use of various photographic collections in the sixth chapter to capture images associated with recreation and leisure time in Texas. McComb asserts in his introduction that an examination of these varied 20ogBook Reviews115 undertakings across time permit him to "illuminate aspects of class, income, race, ethnicity, age, gender, technology, and geography" (5) in Texas history. Indeed, at the end of the work, he argues that an examination of the history of leisure time in Texas can be used to track "a declining racial tension" in the state (252). Unfortunately, this is where the work is less successful. While the author effectively captures the story of leisure and recreation from the perspective of the white population, he is far less successful in demonstrating similar trends for Texas's African-American and Hispanics minorities. One illustration will suffice in demonstrating this particular weakness. In the chapter on parks and public places, McComb briefly mentions the desegregation of beaches and golf courses in Galveston in the early 1960s. While it is commendable for him to do this, he could have better supported his contention that recreation "played a role in the struggle for social justice" (46) if he had spent more time examining what such facilities specifically meant to Texas's African Americans. One fine example of this type of study is Robert J. Robertson's Fair Ways: How Six Black Golfers Won Civil Rights in Beaumont, Texas. If the African Americans receive short shrift, then Mexican Americans...