Aging and The Life Course: An Introduction to Social Gerontology [Hardcover]

Jill Quadagno (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0073528161 | ISBN-13: 978-0073528168 | Publication Date: January 4, 2007 | Edition: 4

This groundbreaking text is the first to take a life course perspective, examining the relationship between the quality of one's life in old age and one’s experiences, earlier choices, opportunities, and constraints. The text gives students a broad background for understanding current policy debates through a distinctive chapter entitled "Old Age and the Welfare State" (Chapter 11) and through boxed essays in every chapter called "An Issue for Public Policy." Each chapter also includes a box called "In Their Own Words" that allows older people to describe their own experiences. In addition, coverage of race, class, gender, and culture is integrated throughout and featured in the "Diversity in the Aging Experience" sections.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jill Quadagno is the Mildred and Claude Pepper Eminent Scholar Chair in Social Gerontology at Florida State University. She earned her B.A from Pennsylvania State University, her M.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, and her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. Dr. Quadagno is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Section on Aging of the American Sociological Association, the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, and an American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship. In 1994, she served as Senior Policy Advisor in the President's Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform. She is the author of numerous books on aging and social policy issues, and is presently serving as President of the American Sociological Society for 1997-1998.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 540 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 4 edition (January 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0073528161
• ISBN-13: 978-0073528168
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars aging and the life course, March 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Aging and the Life Course: An Introduction to Social Gerontology (Hardcover)

mrs quadagno has written a book that effectively discusses the various effects of aging on society.she delves into the effects on a socioeconomic level.race and income as they relate to social services for the elderly is the man topic of her focus.american social services provided are compared with the other western democracies of similar economies.AS our society lives longer we need to discuss what it means to be elderly?and who should be entitled to receive social service programs ?should recipants be based on an age or a need basis?

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best aging text around, June 23, 2007

By 

A reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Aging and The Life Course: An Introduction to Social Gerontology (Hardcover)

I teach a course in the Sociology of Aging and this edition of the text is even better than the last edition. Quadagno covers all the important topics - caring for the frail elderly, retirement, income in later life, health and health care and death and dying. The book is quite attractive and the writing is clear and interesting. My students always love it. No text provides better coverage of all the issues salient to my course. Love it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Basic, March 25, 2009

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TQ - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Aging and The Life Course: An Introduction to Social Gerontology (Hardcover)

I got this book for a college course Social Gerontology. Overall I found that the book was too basic and there were definitely some concepts that have been updated since it was published. I don't have any experience reading any other texts on this topic, but I imagine there is a more comprehensive, detailed book available. As mentioned in the title of the text, it's an introduction.