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Never Say Die

The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age

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Never Say Die

Written by: Susan Jacoby
Narrated by: Laural Merlington
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In a narrative that combines the intensely personal with social, economic, and historical analysis, Susan Jacoby turns an unsparing eye on the marketers of longevity - pharmaceutical companies, lifestyle gurus, and scientific businessmen who suggest that there will soon be a "cure" for the "disease" of aging. She separates wishful hype from realistic hope in a wide-ranging appraisal of subjects that include the explosion of Alzheimer’s cases, the impact of possible cuts in Social Security on the economic future of aging boomers, and the fact that women make up most of the "oldest old." Finally, Jacoby raises the fundamental question of whether living longer is a desirable thing unless it means living better, and she considers the profound moral and ethical concerns raised by increasing longevity. Never Say Die is a lucid, provocative, and powerful argument that Americans, no matter their age, are doing themselves no favor by buying into the myth that they can stay "forever young."

©2011 Susan Jacoby (P)2011 Tantor Personal Development Social Sciences Sociology Aging Parent Aging Alzheimer's Disease Longevity Medicine
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What the critics say

"Drawing on research, personal experience, and anecdotes, [Jacoby] offers an important reality check for Americans enamored of the images of healthy, active seniors featured in advertisements." ( Booklist)
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Couldn't wait to get this book over with! She's a liberal (albeit not classic liberal) writing in the American context. I am a Canadian, and more or less 'alt-right'. Like her, I am part of the generation of 'young old age' baby boomers. My attitude to medical insurance programs run by the State is entirely different from hers, as someone who sees the failure of our provincial monopoly insurance program (everyone gets the same level of care here - excellent for cancer and auto accidents, lousy to mediocre for chronic issues, and 'private' medical care is for all intents and purposes criminalized). I really *tried* to listen to her social democrat perspective that accents female needs for safety instead of freedom of choice, but it was like one long brow-beating lecture instead of a kind and rational attempt to convince me of the error or my male and market economy ways. Too many givens from an entirely foreign way of thinking to be palatable.

Also, the narrator has a stridency in her very voice and the way she emphasized the end of her sentences that truly annoyed me. Very few breaths to absorb what she was saying. I will avoid any books narrated by this speaker. I don't mind that she has strong political opinions, but that's not why I bought the book. I wanted FACTS..Indeed there were some, but mostly just repeating of other people's opinions.

Am I returning this book therefore? No. I want to keep it in order to give it another chance for a day when I have more patience, for I enjoy 'reading' from people whose opinion varies so greatly from my own. And part of the book does have some food for thought. But how the author presents her arguments and how the narrator relays them -- well, they are not advancing the Democrat cause.

* Finishing the last 90 minutes, she gets back on track with facts. But the majority of the middle of this book is a rant.

Social/economic/political - not scientific/medical

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