Gender and Aging in Mesopotamia

The Gilgamesh Epic and Other Ancient Literature

Rivkah Harris

Rivkah Harris’s cross-cultural and multidisciplinary approach breaks new ground in assessing Mesopotamian attitudes toward youth and mature adulthood, aging and the elderly, generational conflict, gender differences in aging, relationships between men and women, women’s contributions to cultural activities, and the "ideal woman." To uncover Mesopotamian perspectives, Harris combed through primary sources - including literature and myth, letters, economic and legal texts, and visual materials. Even such pivotal cultural influences as the Gilgamesh Epic and Enuma Elish are reinterpreted in an original manner.

The Graying of America

An Encyclopedia of Aging, Health, Mind, and Behavior

Donald H. Kausler

Among other updates are more detailed coverage of health problems including arthritis, diabetes, osteoporosis, and various kinds of cancer, as well as advice on reducing the stress of caring for a family member with Alzheimer's disease."--BOOK JACKET.

Forever Young

A Cultural History of Longevity

Lucian Boia

Using a variety of sources - religion, folk tradition, science, literature and art - Lucian Boia exposes the persistent human desire for longevity, which he shows to have been an extremely stable archetype throughout history. He also examines the scientific innovations in longevity made within each period of culture, and the differing ideologies and attitudes towards aging that have existed. Blood transfusions and Bulgarian yoghurt, science fiction and deep freezing, engineered body parts and testicular transplants all have their place in this wide-ranging account, in which the significance of geography, climate, diet and sex is also explored and explained."--BOOK JACKET.

Old Age and the Search for Security

An American Social History

Carole Haber, Brian Gratton

"Haber and Gratton lay to rest many conventional assumptions concerning the place of older persons in American history." -- Choice "Haber and Gratton's meaty little book does more than provide an intelligent synthesis of existing old-age history; its new interpretations, insights, and shifts of emphasis will provoke responses and help move historians' work away from the now threadbare original disputes in e field toward new questions and approaches." -- American Historical Review "Indeed, Haber and Gratton give us a refreshingly multidimensional history of the shift in old-age security from work, assets, or children to government annuities." -- Contemporary Sociology "... the history of old age has finally come of age. The authors successfully synthesize the best of the earlier social and cultural studies with new empirical evidence and recent findings of economic historians." -- Journal of Economic History "A truly 'revisionary' interpretation of the cultural and structural forces that shaped the elderly's lives from the colonial period to the present. Lucid and controversial, [it] is bound to be widely cited and hotly contested." -- W. Andrew Achenbaum This social history of the American elderly offers a provocative new view of aging in the United States. It revises traditional assumptions about the economic status of the old and challenges the long-held contention that industrialization destroyed family relationships.

Catilinarians

Marcus Tullius Cicero

A commentary for students on the four speeches delivered by Cicero during the crisis of 63 BC, when, as consul, he faced a conspiracy to overthrow the Roman state launched by the frustrated consular candidate Lucius Sergius Catilina. They show him at the height of his oratorical powers and political influence.

The Ageless Self

Sources of Meaning in Late Life

Sharon R. Kaufman

Among the many studies of aging and the aged, there is comparatively little material in which the aged speak for themselves. In this compelling study, Sharon Kaufman encourages just such expression, recording and presenting the voices of a number of old Americans. Her informants tell their life stories and relate their most personal feelings about becoming old. Each story is unique, and yet, presented together, they inevitable weave a clear pattern, one that clashes sharply with much current gerontological thought. With this book, Sharon Kaufman allows us to understand the experience of the aging by listening to the aged themselves. Kaufman, while maintaining objectivity, is able to draw an intimate portrait of her subjects. We come to know these people as individuals and we become involved with their lives. Through their words, we find that the aging process is not merely a period of sensory, functional, economic, and social decline. Old people continue to participate in society, and--more important--continue to interpret their participation in the social world. Through themes constructed from these stories, we can see how the old not only cope with losses, but how they create new meaning as they reformulate and build viable selves. Creating identity, Kaufman stresses, is a lifelong process. Sharon Kaufman's book will be of interest and value not only to students of gerontology and life span development, and to professionals in the field of aging, but to everyone who is concerned with the aging process itself. As Sharon Kaufman says, "If we can find the sources of meaning held by the elderly and see how individuals put it all together, we will go a long way toward appreciating the complexity of human aging and the ultimate reality of coming to terms with one's whole life."

Aging and Old Age

Richard A. Posner

Exploding the myth that the United States is on the brink of gerontological disaster, this provocative and revealing book paints a surprisingly rich and unsentimental portrait of the millions of elderly people in the U.S., and offers fresh insight into a wide range of social and political issues relating to the elderly, including health care, crime, social security, and discrimination.

Aging and Male Sexuality

Raul C. Schiavi

Awareness of the importance of sexuality and its disorders in the aging population is increasing as the proportion of older people increases. Based in part on the author's clinical experience and research at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, this book presents an up-to-date overview of the sexuality of aging men in health and illness, within a multidimensional conceptual framework. It takes into account physiological, psychological, interpersonal, and social influences. The book also discusses the impact of medical illness, psychopathology, and drugs, with a review of coping strategies in shaping individual sexual responses to aging and disease. The author incorporates many case studies and vignettes, and devotes a chapter to the sexuality of older gay men. A balanced account of medical and psychosocial evaluation and treatment concludes the book, which will be of broad interest to clinicians and students interested in sexuality and aging.

The Long Tomorrow

How Advances in Evolutionary Biology Can Help Us Postpone Aging

Michael R. Rose

Equally important, Rose surveys the entire field, offering colorful portraits of many leading scientists and shedding light on research findings from around the world. We learn that rodents given fifteen to forty percent fewer calories live about that much longer, and that volunteers in Biosphere II, who lived on reduced caloric intake for two years, all had improved vital signs. Perhaps most interesting, we discover that aging hits a plateau and stops - at least, it does so in fruit flies."--Jacket.

Sick To Death and Not Going to Take It Anymore!

Reforming Health Care for the Last Years of Life

Joanne Lynn

A manifesto arguing for changing the US health care system to provide better care for serious chronic illness and disability at the end of life.

Visions of Aging

Images of the Elderly in Film

Amir Cohen-Shalev

Explores movies on old age by old filmmakers, and movies on old age by younger artists. This title focuses on the cinematic representation of ageing from within, and examines the ways ageing is viewed from the outside. It is suitable for students and scholars of cinema, humanistic gerontology, psychology of art, and the sociology of old age.

Hispanics and the Future of America

National Research Council, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, Committee on Population, Panel on Hispanics in the United States

Hispanics and the Future of America presents details of the complex story of a population that varies in many dimensions, including national origin, immigration status, and generation. The papers in this volume draw on a wide variety of data sources to describe the contours of this population, from the perspectives of history, demography, geography, education, family, employment, economic well-being, health, and political engagement. They provide a rich source of information for researchers, policy makers, and others who want to better understand the fast-growing and diverse population that we call "Hispanic." The current period is a critical one for getting a better understanding of how Hispanics are being shaped by the U.S. experience. This will, in turn, affect the United States and the contours of the Hispanic future remain uncertain. The uncertainties include such issues as whether Hispanics, especially immigrants, improve their educational attainment and fluency in English and thereby improve their economic position; whether growing numbers of foreign-born Hispanics become citizens and achieve empowerment at the ballot box and through elected office; whether impending health problems are successfully averted; and whether Hispanics' geographic dispersal accelerates their spatial and social integration. The papers in this volume provide invaluable information to explore these issues.

Aging

Concepts and Controversies

Harry R. Moody, Jennifer R. Sasser

Winner of the 2022 Textbook & Academic Authors Association′s The McGuffey Longevity Award Aging: Concepts and Controversies is structured to encourage a style of teaching and learning that goes beyond conveying facts and methods. This innovative text focuses on controversies and questions rather than on assimilating facts or creating a single "correct" view about aging or older people. Drawing on their extensive expertise, authors Harry R. Moody and Jennifer R. Sasser first provide an overview of aging in three domains: aging over the life course, health care, and socioeconomic trends. Each section then includes data and conceptual frameworks, helping students to make sense of the controversies and understand their origin, engage in critical thinking, and develop their own views. The Tenth Edition of this hallmark textbook includes amplified discussions focused on differences, diversity, structural inequalities, and inclusion, as well as contemporary issues, including climate change and immigration. Included with this title: The password-protected Instructor Resource Site (formally known as SAGE Edge) offers access to all text-specific resources, including a test bank and editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides.

Creatures of a Day

And Other Tales of Psychotherapy

Irvin D. Yalom

From the best-selling author of Love’s Executioner, a penetrating exploration of life, death, and the search for meaning

The Virtues of Aging

Jimmy Carter

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Former president Jimmy Carter reflects on aging, blending memoir, anecdote, political savvy, and practical advice to truly illuminate the rich promises of growing older. “As we've grown older, the results have been surprisingly good,” writes former president Jimmy Carter in this wise, deeply personal meditation on the new experiences that come to us with age. President Carter had never enjoyed more prestige or influence on the world stage, nor had he ever felt more profound happiness with himself, with his accomplishments, and with his beloved wife, Rosalynn, than in his golden years. In The Virtues of Aging, Jimmy Carter shares the knowledge and the pleasures that age have brought him. The approach to old age was not an easy one for President Carter. At fifty-six, having lost a presidential election, he found himself involuntarily retired from a job he loved and facing a large debt on his farm and warehouse business. President Carter writes movingly here of how he and Rosalynn overcame their despair and disappointment as together they met the challenges ahead. President Carter delves into issues he and millions of others confront in planning for retirement, undertaking new diet and exercise regimens, coping with age prejudice, and sorting out key political questions. On a more intimate level, Carter paints a glowing portrait of his happy marriage to Rosalynn, a relationship that deepened when they became grandparents. Here too are fascinating sketches of world leaders, Nobel laureates, and great thinkers President Carter has been privileged to know—and the valuable lessons on aging he learned from them. The Virtues of Aging celebrates both the blessings that come to us as we grow older and the blessings older people can bestow upon others. An important and moving book, written with gentleness, humor, and love, The Virtues of Aging is a treasure for readers of all ages.

De Officiis

Marcus Tul Translated by Walter Miller

The most extraordinary and influential treatise ever written on political ethics. Though composed in late 44 B.C., it is relevant and applicable even today. Cicero has outlined all the aspects which aspiring politicians need to know and follow for an honorable career. He believes that justice, intelligence, nobility of character, and decorum are characteristics which guarantee success not only in politics but in all facets of life. Inspirational!

Reclaimed Powers

David Gutman

Reprint of the Basic Books edition originally published in 1987, with a new (6p.) preface and (20p.) afterword. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Sandwich Generation

Adult Children Caring for Aging Parents

Charles R. Roots

Examines ways to alleviate the burden placed upon adult children who care for aging parents but who still have children at home. The study shows that the situation is going to continue, complicated by related issues such as the right to die, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Topics addressed include who is responsible for whom, the ethical paradox, multiple sandwiching, and the role of the church. A 12-week course of study and nine appendices are included. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Living Situation of Elderly Americans of Polish Descent in Chicago

Adam Zych

Description unavailable for this volume in the current provider response.

Ending Aging

The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs That Could Reverse Human Aging in Our Lifetime

Aubrey de Grey, Michael Rae

Drawing on controversial theories, argues that everyday people can live to be one thousand years old if they overcome six biological problems related to toxic waste, aging, and disease.