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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, February 1, 2001
This book presents a thoroughly readable introduction to the science of aging, not just human aging, but aging among all animals. The author begins by pointing out that all claims for pockets of extraordinarily aged people in various corners of the world have always lacked documentation or other substantiation. He states that there is a limit to human longevity that has remained constant even as life expectancies have risen with improved health care and living conditions. Austad's somewhat simplistic writing style seems geared towards readers of self-help bestsellers at times, and occasionally his analogies lack clarity. Early in the text he defines the beginning of aging as the time when the probability of death is at its minimum, which seems to be about age 11 in humans. While this may be the standard measure for the science of aging (?), Austad never compares this to ordinary people's measures. For instance, many lay people distinguish between aging and longevity. They accept that there is a limit to life but within that limit, they want to have the highest quality of life possible right up until the end. Such people might define aging as a decline in life quality due to pain or illness, and loss of balance, strength, or memory. Certainly, quality of life does not start to decline at age 11. Later in the book as Austad examines ways that people might lengthen their lives, he still never takes up the issue of quality of life. Austad argues that some of the things that people do to try to make themselves healthier (exercise, vitamins) have not been shown to increase longevity but he seems to overlook the fact that they might increase the quality of life so they still might be worthwhile. Despite these weaknesses, the book is still a very good introduction to the science of aging. It summarizes much current research about aging in language that is accessible by anyone.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing Answers to the Right Questions in Senescence, October 29, 1999
By A Customer
If you are interested in health and the body, and have a scientific background, I think that you will find this book amazing. This is NOT a metaphysical questioning of death or a magic list of life lengthening behaviors. It is an attempt to understand why we age. As Steven points out, we use the word "why" to mean "how" many times. While he admits that it is not uninteresting or useless to know how we age (the mechanics), he undertakes the question of WHY. He does have an answer. Ironically, understanding why we age (which makes it inevitable that we will die) does give some spiritual peace, as it is human nature to be perturbed by that which we can not rationally understand. Steven logically and completely dismisses many fallacies that we have about aging deeply engrained in to our beliefs, and supports his arguments with his own scientific work and that of others. The book is filled with interesting little nuggets of trivia and insights in to timeless philosophical questions. Buy it. Read it.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An entertaining introduction to the science of aging, February 4, 2002
Why do we age? The simple answer is, there is no simple answer. The simplest "simple" answer is probably, we age because we live, and living wears our bodies out. In order to live we breathe because our bodies use oxygen to convert food into energy. But in the process something called "oxidative damage" happens to our cells. In other words: we rust. Inevitably. The two other main reasons why bodies wear out are connected to glucose and "browning damage", and to self-repair mechanisms of our cells that fail to stop and lead to uncontrolled cell growth - what we call "cancer". The three processes of rusting, browning and cancer are part of aging. They are "how" we age. But "why" do we age at all? Why don't we stay healthy for, say, 150 years and then simply drop dead? In very simple terms the reason is: aging is genetic. The genes do not care about the body after the body has served its purpose: to replicate the genes and ensure that they can replicate again. This is called the "selfish gene" theory, an expression coined by Richard Dawkins. Gerontology, the study of aging, is a field of science in rapid growth. I do not claim to be a specialist; therefore I do not want to go into much detail here. Steven Austad's book explains very well "what science is discovering about the body's journey through life". He ends his book with a chapter of particular interest for women ("Reproductive Aging, Menopause, and Health"), and a chapter on our hopes of how to make the best of our ultimate genetic fate ("Slowing Aging and Extending Life: Remedies and Expectations"). Apart from Austad's humor - it can be both droll and dry - I have particularly enjoyed his short portraits of scientists in the field of gerontology and evolutionary biology, such as the geneticist J.B.S. Haldane, the immunologist Peter Medawar, the American scientist Raymond Pearl (who in 1938 produced the first paper analyzing the extent to which smoking reduced life expectancy, but also was of the opinion that people above 50 should forfeit their right to vote, because they would have grown too foolish), the German physiologist Max Rubner, the gerontologist Alex Comfort (who discovered the joy - and profitability - of sex), the biologist John Maynard Smith, and the two-time Nobel prize winner Linus Pauling. Austad's cameo of Max Rubner is my favorite because of its psychological insight into the downside of dedication and narrow focus: "The first scientist to investigate the rate-of-living idea in any rigorous fashion was the German physiologist Max Rubner. Rubner could make people very uncomfortable with his Teutonic bluntness. He was noted for his long silences, punctuated with outbursts of aggressively sarcastic humor. But he was also an obsessively precise investigator of the energy contained in food and the use of that energy by animals. Like obsessives everywhere, he felt that the significance of his obsession was underappreciated by others."
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