The purpose of this eighth edition of "Pastimes" is to extend the discussion about contemporary leisure to new concepts supported by the latest research findings and scholarly commentary. In this edition much of the content is new, including an added discussion on architecture as material culture. As well, more attention to indigenous people within a leisure context is incorporated. There is also a new chapter that challenges us to look at leisure as a fundamental aspect of human rights. The implication of this chapter is to aid readers, learners, and instructors to think even more broadly about not only what leisure is but also what it can be. This new edition of "Pastimes" also contains new illustrations of concepts through field-based cases, new biographical features, new exploratory and participatory activities, and new research study summaries. More than a textbook, "Pastimes" is very much a point of view. It presents leisure as a human phenomenon that is individual and collective, vital and frivolous, historical and contemporary, factual and subjective, good and bad. Human life and its culture cannot be understood without understanding leisure. Leisure is a complex subject, yet worth knowing.