Contested Waters

Download or read book Contested Waters written by Jeff Wiltse and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From 19th-century public baths to today's private backyard havens, swimming pools have been a provocative symbol of American life. In this social and cultural history of swimming pools in the U.S., Wiltse relates how, over the years, pools have served as asylums for the urban poor, leisure resorts for the masses, and private clubs for middle-class suburbanites. As sites of race riots, shrinking swimsuits, and conspicuous leisure, swimming pools reflect the tensions and transformations that have given rise to modern America.