I'm Not Done Yet: Keeping At It, Remaining Relevant, And Having The Time Of My Life [Hardcover]

Edward I. Koch (Author), Daniel Paisner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 22, 1999

I'm Not Done Yet! is a lively primer on remaining relevant into the so-called retirement years. Ed Koch, the colorful three-term mayor of New York City and now a noted television and radio personality, columnist, and commentator, offers anecdotal evidence to suggest that the healthiest outlook on advancing age is to keep active at the work you love.

Koch reflects on life after politics and life after turning seventy. The book takes readers through the author's various career turns since losing the Democratic mayoral primary to David Dinkins in 1989, with occasional looks back at related experiences and childhood memories. Included are discussions of the up and downturns of what Koch refers to as the third act of his varied career, and a frank account of his recent medical history.

Published to coincide with Koch's seventy-fifth birthday, I'm Not Done Yet! ends with the author's vision of his own obituary, reflecting on the life he has lived and the choices he has made. Here, for the first time, he speaks openly about what it has meant to live a life alone-without a partner, without children-and what it might mean in the years ahead.

By turns funny, candid, insightful, and unflinchingly honest, I'm Not Done Yet! is a fearless account of an extraordinary man's understanding of what it means to reach one's autumn years.I'm Not Done Yet! is a lively primer on remaining relevant into the so-called retirement years. Ed Koch, the colorful three-term mayor of New York City and now a noted television and radio personality, columnist, and commentator, offers anecdotal evidence to suggest that the healthiest outlook on advancing age is to keep active at the work you love.

Koch reflects on life after politics and life after turning seventy. The book takes readers through the author's various career turns since losing the Democratic mayoral primary to David Dinkins in 1989, with occasional looks back at related experiences and childhood memories. Included are discussions of the up- and downturns of what Koch refers to as the third act of his varied career, and a frank account of his recent medical history.

Published to coincide with Koch's seventy-fifth birthday, I'm Not Done Yet! ends with the author's vision of his own obituary, reflecting on the life he has lived and the choices he has made. Here, for the first time, he speaks openly about what it has meant to live a life alone-without a partner, without children-and what it might mean in the years ahead.

By turns funny, candid, insightful, and unflinchingly honest, I'm Not Done Yet! is a fearless account of an extraordinary man's understanding of what it means to reach one's autumn years.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

At 75 years old, former New York City mayor Ed Koch is as busy as ever. "I currently have nine jobs," he exults in I'm Not Done Yet! "I've had more, and one day, no doubt, I'll have fewer. But I believe the turns in my professional life reveal an important point: Your career is what you make of it, not what it makes of you." Since leaving city hall, Koch has worked as (among other things) a radio talk-show host, a newspaper columnist, a college instructor, a SlimFast spokesman, and an arbitrator for TV's People's Court. To this day, the city's leaders turn to him for counsel. "I am still relevant," Koch notes. "My opinions count. Even my political adversaries seek my advice, and appear to consider it carefully, and this is enormously gratifying to me--with each passing year, even more so." But the most important thing, in his mind, is that he's kept active doing things he loves to do--an opportunity that he insists is available to everyone as they grow older.

It hasn't been all roses, though: Koch writes with perfect candor about the health problems that have plagued him in his later years, including an enlarged prostate (which leads to some potentially embarrassing revelations that Koch turns into humorous anecdotes) and a heart attack. He also talks about the potential costs in the future of his lifelong bachelorhood--no children and no life partner to comfort him in his final years (and no desire to seek a partner out: "I don't believe it was meant to be, and I'm not seeking for it to happen"). Even that bit of gloom, though, can't stop I'm Not Done Yet! from being one of the most cheerful accounts of "life after politics" a public figure has to offer.

From Publishers Weekly

Ostensibly a "primer on remaining relevant into so-called retirement" and addressing issues of work, health, finances and attitude about one's own aging, the latest from New York City's former chief executive, who will turn 75 in January, is a reflection on the experiences of his post-mayoral life that he believes holds lessons for his readers. As you might expect, these experiences are so idiosyncratic (as Koch himself acknowledges, not many aging people have agents calling with inquiries about starring on The People's Court or will be offered partnerships in a law firm just so clients can meet them), there is little chance they could actually bear direct relevance for anyone else. Still, the message of staying active, upbeat and involved is very positive; Koch eloquently insists that knowing your peak years are in the past does not mean there are no longer hills to climb. But his personal refrain--that he has remained "relevant"--seems to reflect continuous efforts to feed his own ego as much as to find new opportunities to contribute to society. In working "assiduously" to stay "out in front" on important issues, the bottom line for Koch is that he is able to focus the attention of influential people "on a matter I deem important." Uninhibited commentary keeps the volume interesting, especially for those who aren't fans of the current mayor of New York ("Rudy [Giuliani] is as corrupt in the use of power as they come") or are concerned about the trials and tribulations of an enlarged prostate. Those who liked Koch's style as mayor will find this to be an entertaining read; others should prepare to be irritated. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (December 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688170757
• ISBN-13: 978-0688170752
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,704,088 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars insight into america's best known mayor, December 29, 1999

By 

Edward S. Lewis (new york city) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: I'm Not Done Yet: Keeping At It, Remaining Relevant, And Having The Time Of My Life (Hardcover)

ed koch, america's best known mayor in modern times, continues his sucess as a fascinating author. this book offers insights into how he moved from mayor of new york city, into jobs keeping him equally motivated and renowned. if character is everything, then ed koch has everything. a page turner of the first order, it pulls you in from the first page. anyone who has dreamed of coming to new york, been to new york, flown over new york, or heard of ed koch will find the book fascinating. we should all be as relevant and involved as ed koch.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ed Koch, the Communicator Does It Again!, February 9, 2000

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Kory Hildebrand - See all my reviews
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This review is from: I'm Not Done Yet: Keeping At It, Remaining Relevant, And Having The Time Of My Life (Hardcover)

To use the favorite word by which Ed Koch describes his life experiences -- this book is "enjoyable." It is autobiographical/philosophical, revealing, funny; I couldn't put it down. If you like Ed Koch (which I do -- I'm envious of his self-absorption), you can hear him on every page, ultimately as the educator that he is. It is a must-read, particularly for Post-War Baby Boomers, to see a view of age 75 that most of us didn't see/don't see in our parents. The book is truly inspirational in a very realistic way. "Ed Koch, I hope you live forever, and if you can't, I hope God takes you all at once as is your desire and not in pieces like 'salami.'"