David Nasaw's Going Out Book Review

Going Out: The Rise and Fall of Public Amusements by David Nasaw describes many different types of public activities during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries and further discusses the effects of amusement on the economy and society as a whole. The author covers various forms of fun-time activities from museums to world fairs. Each chapter of Nasaw's book portrays a different amusement and gives an in-depth perspective from several different points of view. Nasaw …

…facts cause this book to be a good addition to historical information concerning public amusements. However, the book goes from one amusement to the next which causes a lack of story. The author is unable to keep the reader interested over a long period of time due to the fact that it jumps from one thing to the next without integrating the previous forms of amusement into the future amusements and purpose of the book.