Sebastian de Grazia

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Sebastian de Grazia, (1917-2001), was a Pulitzer prize winning author. Born in Chicago, de Grazia received his bachelor's degree and a doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago. During World War II, he served in the Office of Strategic Services, predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency, as an analyst. He taught political philosophy at Rutgers from 1962 to 1988. He received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Biography of Autobiography for his book, Machiavelli in Hell. De Grazia could be considered the "Father of Leisure" in the West. In his insightful book, "Of Time, Work, and Leisure", De Grazia expounds on the idea that leisure was not necessarily recreational, but to expand one's awareness and understanding of the world through music and contemplation. The social context of this understanding of leisure has, to a large extent, been lost, and with it the notion of leisure being the pursuit of philosophy. He has revived the philosophy of leisure away from the narrow definition of recreation and free time to its former glory--contemplation.^[1]^[2]

He is the author of The Political Community (1948), Errors of Psychotherapy (1952), Of Time, Work and Leisure (1962), and A Country with No Name (1997).

deGrazia was married three times and divorced twice.