Description
We live in a time of change, an era where old men can be celebrated as elders who are valued but who are not demeaned if they become ill and dependent. Where we aim to maintain health but find dignity in frailty. Old Man Country helps readers see and imagine this change for themselves. The book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom, as he narrates encounters with twelve distinguished American men over 80 -- including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world's most famous heart surgeon. In these and other intimate conversations, the book explores and honors the particular way that each man faces four challenges of living a good old age: Am I Still a Man? Do I Still Matter? What is the Meaning of My Life? Am I Loved? Readers will come to see how each man -- even the most famous -- faces challenges that are every man's challenges. Personal yet universal stories about work, love, sexuality, and hope mingle with stories about illness, loss and death. These stories will strengthen each of us as we anticipate and navigate our way through the passages of old age.
About the Author
Thomas R. Cole is the McGovern Chair and Director of the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Cole graduated from Yale University (B.A., 1971), Wesleyan University (M.A., 1975) and the University of Rochester (Ph.D., 1981). His work has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, Voice of America, PBS, and at the United Nations. He has served as a consultant to the President's Council on Bioethics, as an advisor to and speaker for the United Nations NGO Committee on Ageing, the Union for Reform Judaism, and various editorial and foundation boards. Cole has published many articles and several books on the history of aging and humanistic gerontology. His book The Journey of Life: A Cultural History of Aging in America (Cambridge, 1992) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Among other books, he edited The Oxford Book of Aging, which was noted by the New Yorker as one of the most memorable books of the year. Cole's interest in the life stories of older people has taken him into biography and film-making. His book No Color Is My Kind: the Life of Eldrewey Stearns and the Desegregation of Houston (1997) was adapted into the film, The Strange Demise of Jim Crow, which was broadcast nationally on over 60 PBS stations and internationally by the State Department. Cole's film Still Life: The Humanity of Anatomy, was an official selection at the Doubletake Documentary Film festival in 2002. In 2007, he co-produced Stroke: Conversations and Explanations, a prize-winning film about the invisible world of stroke survivors.
Reviews
"Our culture too often defines our lives as a journey of three parts, the final one running from age 65 until death. But as Thomas Cole makes clear there is a "fourth age," encompassing those over 80, and it's growing at four-times the rate of the U. S. population as a whole. Intertwining elegant snippets of his personal recollections with riveting interviews of well-known 'fourth age' men, Cole pushes us to reconsider the holistic nature of our lives. Not just an important book, but a revolutionary one as well." * David Oshinsky, Director, Division of Medical Humanities, New York University *
"Beautifully written, honest, and insightful, Cole's Old Man Country tackles key questions about aging and manhood, blending profiles and memoir to show us how exceptional men (including the author himself ) change and adapt to old age." * Louise Aronson, Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and author of Elderhood *
"What is a good old age? At a time when 10,000 Americans turn 65 each day, the question is more timely than ever. In Old Man Country, Cole concludes there's not one answer, but many. His deeply personal interviews with men in the 'fourth age' reveal that growth doesn't come to a sudden halt in middle age and that there are countless ways to prove that life still matters even in the face of inevitable physical decline." * Richard M. Smith, President, The Pinkerton Foundation *
"At a time when our culture is calling male privilege into question, Cole's interviews reveal much about the actual lives of men at the pinnacle of American privilege, as they candidly reflect on their decades of influence across a wide range of fields. Readers of Old Man Country will meet a dozen powerful personalities in their 80s and 90s, from former Fed chairman Paul Volcker to spiritual guru Ram Dass, as well as those less well known. Their reflections on family, work, love, and, most importantly, life's meaning are sometimes leavened by unvarnished observations from the women in their lives. Along the way, Cole offers valuable insights from his own moving journey into later life." * Paul Kleyman, Founder and National Coordinator, Journalists Network on Generations *
Book Information
ISBN 9780190689988
Author Thomas R. Cole
Format Hardback
Page Count 192
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 399g
Dimensions(mm) 157mm * 239mm * 23mm
About the Author
Thomas R. Cole is the McGovern Chair and Director of the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Cole graduated from Yale University (B.A., 1971), Wesleyan University (M.A., 1975) and the University of Rochester (Ph.D., 1981). His work has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, Voice of America, PBS, and at the United Nations. He has served as a consultant to the President's Council on Bioethics, as an advisor to and speaker for the United Nations NGO Committee on Ageing, the Union for Reform Judaism, and various editorial and foundation boards. Cole has published many articles and several books on the history of aging and humanistic gerontology. His book The Journey of Life: A Cultural History of Aging in America (Cambridge, 1992) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Among other books, he edited The Oxford Book of Aging, which was noted by the New Yorker as one of the most memorable books of the year. Cole's interest in the life stories of older people has taken him into biography and film-making. His book No Color Is My Kind: the Life of Eldrewey Stearns and the Desegregation of Houston (1997) was adapted into the film, The Strange Demise of Jim Crow, which was broadcast nationally on over 60 PBS stations and internationally by the State Department. Cole's film Still Life: The Humanity of Anatomy, was an official selection at the Doubletake Documentary Film festival in 2002. In 2007, he co-produced Stroke: Conversations and Explanations, a prize-winning film about the invisible world of stroke survivors.
Reviews
"Our culture too often defines our lives as a journey of three parts, the final one running from age 65 until death. But as Thomas Cole makes clear there is a "fourth age," encompassing those over 80, and it's growing at four-times the rate of the U. S. population as a whole. Intertwining elegant snippets of his personal recollections with riveting interviews of well-known 'fourth age' men, Cole pushes us to reconsider the holistic nature of our lives. Not just an important book, but a revolutionary one as well." * David Oshinsky, Director, Division of Medical Humanities, New York University *
"Beautifully written, honest, and insightful, Cole's Old Man Country tackles key questions about aging and manhood, blending profiles and memoir to show us how exceptional men (including the author himself ) change and adapt to old age." * Louise Aronson, Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and author of Elderhood *
"What is a good old age? At a time when 10,000 Americans turn 65 each day, the question is more timely than ever. In Old Man Country, Cole concludes there's not one answer, but many. His deeply personal interviews with men in the 'fourth age' reveal that growth doesn't come to a sudden halt in middle age and that there are countless ways to prove that life still matters even in the face of inevitable physical decline." * Richard M. Smith, President, The Pinkerton Foundation *
"At a time when our culture is calling male privilege into question, Cole's interviews reveal much about the actual lives of men at the pinnacle of American privilege, as they candidly reflect on their decades of influence across a wide range of fields. Readers of Old Man Country will meet a dozen powerful personalities in their 80s and 90s, from former Fed chairman Paul Volcker to spiritual guru Ram Dass, as well as those less well known. Their reflections on family, work, love, and, most importantly, life's meaning are sometimes leavened by unvarnished observations from the women in their lives. Along the way, Cole offers valuable insights from his own moving journey into later life." * Paul Kleyman, Founder and National Coordinator, Journalists Network on Generations *
Book Information
ISBN 9780190689988
Author Thomas R. Cole
Format Hardback
Page Count 192
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 399g
Dimensions(mm) 157mm * 239mm * 23mm
