Leisureville
Adventures in a World Without Children
Andrew D. Blechman
- This
- revealing
- profile
- “disappears
- down
- the
- rabbit
- hole
- [into]
- the
- largest
- gated
- retirement
- community
- in
- the
- world”
- and
- what
- it
- discovers
- is
- “fascinating”
- (The
- New
- York
- Times).When
- his
- next-door
- neighbors
- pick
- up
- and
- move
- from
- New
- England
- to
- an
- age-restricted
- “active
- adult”
- development
- in
- Florida
- called
- The
- Villages,
- Andrew
- D.
- Blechman
- is
- astonished
- by
- their
- stories—and
- determined
- to
- investigate.
- Sprawling
- across
- two
- zip
- codes,
- with
- a
- golf
- course
- for
- every
- day
- of
- the
- month,
- two
- downtowns,
- its
- own
- newspaper,
- radio,
- and
- TV
- station,
- The
- Villages
- is
- a
- prefab
- paradise
- for
- retired
- Baby
- Boomers,
- where
- “not
- having
- children
- around
- seems
- to
- free
- [them]
- to
- act
- like
- adolescents”
- (The
- New
- York
- Times).In
- the
- critically
- acclaimed
- Leisureville,
- Blechman
- delves
- into
- this
- senior
- utopia,
- offering
- a
- hilarious
- firsthand
- report
- on
- everything
- from
- ersatz
- nostalgia
- to
- the
- residents’
- surprisingly
- active
- sex
- life.
- Blechman
- also
- traces
- the
- history
- of
- this
- phenomenon,
- travelling
- to
- Arizona
- to
- find
- out
- what
- pioneering
- developments
- like
- Sun
- City
- and
- Youngtown
- have
- become
- after
- decades
- of
- segregation.Blending
- incisive
- social
- commentary
- and
- colorful
- reportage,
- “Blechman
- describes
- this
- brave
- new
- world
- with
- determined
- good
- humor
- and
- considerable
- bemusement”
- (Katherine
- A.
- Powers,
- The
- Boston Globe).
pro-mbooks3 : libris
