Aging in a Changing Society

People are living into old age. This is actually a revolutionary statement as we look back to the start and then to the end of the twentieth century. This demographic revolution raises important practical and ethical issues and, for the most part, has led the way for the field of gerontology, the study of aging, to emerge as an area of increasing importance. With that in mind, Thorson has revised and expanded his 1995 text to serve as an introduction to the multidisciplinary field of gerontology. Gerontology is both an area of specialty and an area within the larger arena of social sciences. This text, with its friendly narrative style, assumes no prior knowledge of gerontology, sociology, or psychology and will therefore solidly serve its purpose as an overview of the field. Along with the readable style, the text is well referenced, handsomely illustrated, and thick with helpful features.

James A. Thorson is Professor and Chair of the Department of Gerontology, University of Nebraska at Omaha.