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Why Survive?: Being Old in America
"Butler questions the value of long life for its own sake; modern medicine, he says, has ironically created 'a huge group of people for whom survival is possible but satisfaction in living elusive.' He proposes sweeping policy reforms to redefine and restructure the institutions responsible for what he calls 'the tragedy of old age in America.'" - New York Times Book Review "Crammed with facts that explode old myths." - Boston Globe "Heavily documented, highly readable... jammed with recommendations for constructive change in every area." - Science "I commend it for clarity and lucidity, unpretentiousness and comprehensiveness... I think it is a classic." -Karl Menninger M.D.
512 pages, Paperback
First published May 28, 1975
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 12, 2025
Won pulitzer in 1975. interesting thing was that the issues with aging he identifies are still with us. unaddressed. Proposed solutions did not have enough support and resources. He suggests replacing the word 'old' with 'long-lived'. Need something more interesting??
April 30, 2015
Not much has changed since 1975 in how we treat our older people!
January 17, 2018
This book raised some important issues but a lot of the material was dated. We need an updated version.
August 13, 2026
Why Survive is the 1976 Pulitzer Prize winner for nonfiction and it is mainly about the issues that the elderly face. It is written with an argumentative and convincing tone in favor of taking action for the rights of the elderly in America.
I am aware that being not so recent, some of the statistical data is outdated. However, there are so many principles here that are still very current. The mentality surrounding the elderly depends, of course, on the culture and the main point of the book is that becoming old doesn't necessarily mean that life is over, there can exist perks and joys in old age.
This book brought so much perspective. We have our younger years now, but we too are faced with getting older, and it will do us good to get ready for old age with grace, rather than resentment.
I am aware that being not so recent, some of the statistical data is outdated. However, there are so many principles here that are still very current. The mentality surrounding the elderly depends, of course, on the culture and the main point of the book is that becoming old doesn't necessarily mean that life is over, there can exist perks and joys in old age.
This book brought so much perspective. We have our younger years now, but we too are faced with getting older, and it will do us good to get ready for old age with grace, rather than resentment.
October 27, 2025
This is an important book that deals with all aspects of aging, including government and other services. It was written in 1975 and needs to be updated.n
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews