Why Survive?: Being Old in America

by Robert N. Butler

"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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Health, Science

512 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 1975

Reviews

[Suzanne Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

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??

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much has changed since 1975 in how we treat our older people!

[George King · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book raised some important issues but a lot of the material was dated. We need an updated version.

[Joy Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

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