The publication brings together the findings of a 15-year research project to provide a theoretical framework to the study of amateurs and professionals in the fields of theatre, music, archaeology, astronomy, baseball, football, magic and stand-up comedy. A thorough review of findings across this wide range of activities, including findings with regard to 'hobbyists' and career volunteers, enabled definitions to be established of such concepts as 'amateur', 'the public', 'professional' and 'serious leisure'. Conclusions about the routine activities of amateurs and professionals in each field, and about careers, costs and rewards are presented. A study is made of the external world of amateurs and professionals in the light of such issues as family ties, relations between them and between amateurs and their employers, public images, critics and journalists, community contributions, and of the question of marginality for amateurs who are caught between the working world of the professional and the casual leisure world of the majority of the population. Finally, the book explores the future role of serious leisure in relation to predictions of greater unemployment and increased leisure time and longevity. The work of Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss and their notion of 'grounded theory' forms the basis of the project.