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Title: Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life from the Landmark Harvard Study of Adult Development by M.D. George E. Vaillant ISBN: 0-316-09007-7 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 08 January, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.4 (10 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Fascinatin' Data
Comment: This is an outstanding book if for no other reason that it describes in detail not one, but three studies that have followed selected groups of individuals from youth through old age over the course of the twentieth century. Two of the groups studied were drawn largely from people of privilege, but the third most assuredly was not.
The author became the ultimate caretaker of the data from the largest studies as part of his work at Harvard. As perhaps a sign of the times, the data from that study, which once was recorded painstakingly in ledger volumes now sits in his hard drive (one hopes carefully backed up). Simply learning that these studies existed was an eye-opener for me. What treasures!
Though Vaillant happily draws a number of subjective conclusions from the data in the course of this book, he provides substantial information about the objective facts from which his conclusions are drawn. The reader is educated sufficiently to differ with confidence when so moved. The author's periodic confessions of how his views on various study participants evolved of the course of many years is a rather charming demonstration of aging well in its own right. This book is not intended as a scholarly work, however, and the data are not reproduced in full.
I thought the descriptions of individuals who participated in the study, disguised though they might be, and of the author himself, to be the most interesting part of the book. Though they prevent _Aging Well_ from being a simple "Guide To Enjoying Being Old," the participant profiles provide considerable nuance and subtlety as the author ponders the age-old question, how are we to make the best of our lot in life?
Rating: 3
Summary: A Useful Pop-Psych Antidote to Aging Poorly
Comment: With around 320 pages of main text, not counting the appendices, Vaillant takes some time to present a popularization of several longitudinal studies of adult development, and to put forth the idea that development doesn't simply stop at 5, 12, 21, or even 45, but that it continues, with specific challenges, into the late and late-late years of life.
As a book intended for popular reading, Vaillant can be expected to make assertions and hopeful noises that his data don't necessarily back up to the same extent as he would for a peer reviewed journal. Generalizability from the studies he has available (which are impressive accomplishments in social science research, even with all of their limitations) is sketchy, especially since he gives most of his time to the Harvard group of white men.
Still, even seeing a limited portrayal of a slice of the population that's gotten young-old (60-69), old-old (70-79), and become the oldest-old (80+) has its benefits. For one thing, it does help lay out a trajectory that those of us who are distant from the older generations can use of to conceive the future of our parents and the present of our grandparents in ways beyond loss.
So if you want a pick=me up and a reminder about many of the strengths and successes of the elderly go ahead and pick this up. Just don't expect it to tell you as much about the disadvantaged elderly.
Rating: 2
Summary: Liberal bias
Comment: Given the usual tendancy of liberal academicians to deny their obvious bias against moderates and conservatives, it was refreshing to see Vaillant admit a few of his biases (and the biases of other liberals). He admits that, contrary to his expectations, conservatives do not age any worse than liberals. He had expected conservatives to age poorly because he thought that conservatives were not "as loving" as liberals--presumably because conservatives have some set of moral standards, whereas liberals do not have any such scruples. Vaillant also admits that social scientists have a tendency to display "contempt" for Christians.
In general, Vaillant sets his own personal spiritual musings above any recognized religion, dismissing as "immature" anyone who expresses convictions regarding any and all traditional monotheistic religions--especially Christianity. Unfortunately, Vaillant is utterly unaware of how pompous and immature his own posturing appears.
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Title: Successful Aging by Robert L. Kahn, M.D. John Wallis Rowe ISBN: 0440508630 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 09 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Aging Well: The Complete Guide to Physical and Emotional Health by Jeanne Wei, Sue Levkoff ISBN: 0471082066 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 17 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: The Wisdom of the Ego: Sources of Resilience in Adult Life by George E. Vaillant ISBN: 0674953738 Publisher: Belknap Pr Pub. Date: July, 1998 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Adaptation to Life by George E. Vaillant ISBN: 0674004140 Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: August, 1998 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Aging With Grace : What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and MoreMeaningful Lives by David Snowdon ISBN: 0553380923 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 30 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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