Book excerpt: Strategic Recreation Management is a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the fundamental principles, managerial techniques and practices in the public administration of recreational services. It covers every key facet of public management as it concerns recreational service, including organizational, operational, planning, developmental, and managerial procedures, as well as examining all the contextual factors that influence the delivery of recreation, such as political pressures, economics, social considerations, physical resources, and citizens' perception of the field and its performance. Each chapter offers illustrative case studies from the real world of recreation management, with chapters sequenced to represent the typical day-to-day challenges and issues in recreation service. Authors Jay Shivers and Joseph Halper have many years' experience of working in the recreational sector, as educators and practitioners, and the result is a textbook that provides the perfect foundation for any degree-level course in recreation management, as well as being an indispensible reference for all professionals working in recreation service.