Valentine's Day gifts for her from Shopbop
To share your reaction on this item, open the Amazon app from the App Store or Google Play on your phone.
Buy used:
$6.83
Used: Good | Details
Sold by Zoom Books Company
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys, dvds, etc. . We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Theodore Roszak
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Making of an Elder Culture: Reflections on the Future of America’s Most Audacious Generation Paperback – September 1, 2009

by Theodore Roszak (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 21 ratings
See all formats and editions

Forty years later, the "audacious generation" takes on the unfinished business of their counter-culture youth.

It is a brilliant and highly original thesis. I commend Roszak for writing the book.
― Tom Pochari, World Affairs Monthly

...sense of optimisim that comes out in this book, where Roszak champions the possibility of restoring that lost commitment to the ideals of libertion .
― Tom Hartley

The Summer of Love. Vietnam. Woodstock. These are the milestones of the baby boomer generation Theodore Roszak chronicled in his 1969 breakthrough book The Making of a Counter Culture . Part of an unprecedented longevity revolution, those boomers form the most educated, most socially conscientious, politically savvy older generation the world has ever seen. And they are preparing for Act Two.

The Making of an Elder Culture reminds the boomers of the creative role they once played in our society and of the moral and intellectual resources they have to draw upon for radical transformation in their later years. Seeing the experience of aging as a revolution in consciousness, it predicts an “elder insurgency” where boomers return to take up what they left undone in their youth. Freed from competitive individualism, military-industrial bravado, and the careerist rat race, who better to forge a compassionate economy? Who better positioned not only to demand Social Security and Medicare for themselves, but to champion “Entitlements for Everyone”? Fusing the green, the gray, and the just, Eldertown can be an achievable, truly sustainable future.

Part demographic study, part history, part critique, and part appeal, Theodore Roszak’s take on the imminent transformation of our world is as wise as it is inspired―and utterly appealing.

Theodore Roszak is the author of fifteen books, including the 1969 classic The Making of a Counter Culture . He is professor emeritus of history at California State University, and lives in Berkeley, California.

Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    New Society Publishers
  4. Publication date
    September 1, 2009
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.64 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0865716617
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0865716612
  8. See all details
Next slide of product details

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Theodore Roszak is the author of 15 books, including the 1969 classic, The Making of a Counter Culture. He was educated at UCLA and Princeton and is professor emeritus of history at State University of California-East Bay. He lives in Berkeley, California.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ New Society Publishers (September 1, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0865716617
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0865716612
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.64 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 21 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Theodore Roszak

Theodore Roszak

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Theodore Roszak (1933-2011) was the author of fifteen books, including the 1969 classic "The Making of a Counter Culture." He was professor emeritus of history at California State University, and lived in Berkeley, California.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
21 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Avra Rob
    5.0 out of 5 stars A worthy sequel
    Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    The title refers to Roszak's earlier "The Making of a Counterculture" from 1969, which I read then with enormous pleasure, and a sense of "corroboration." It was to a certain extent a validation of the youth culture of those idealistic days, a period which brought an end to a senseless war, fostered the environmental movement, among much else, and never ceases to be vilified by the far right as the source of all evil. The youth of those days are now today's elders, the Boomers grown old, and Roszak makes in the present book an equally compelling appeal to this huge demographic to take the lead in transforming the country once more. The hope is that many among them will take up the challenge, and not spend their remaining years in indolent comfort. His scholarship is impressive, the writing eloquent but no nonsense, and his suggestions are worth serious consideration by readers of any age, but especially by those with years of experience to draw on.
    15 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Dr Conrade Yap
    3.0 out of 5 stars Great Call for Interdependency but let down by combative mood
    Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2009
    This is a book written by an elderly for a Boomer generation. Launched as a sequel to an earlier book, "Making of a Counter Culture," Roszak updates his focus on this generation, while inviting the younger generation to look into his exhortation to the Boomers. He tries to drum up this generation by invoking their previous passions such as `ideas about love, freedom, responsibility, democracy, success and personal worth,' arguing that these are still `relevant' for today. (287)

    THE GOOD: There are several good points Roszak points out. The chief value of this book is that it gives us an insider perspective of the struggles and unfair treatments meted out on the elder population. It is a book for us to cherish and remember that we too, will get old one day. Why not begin treating all persons, both young and old with courtesy and respect?

    THE CONTROVERSIAL: There are some controversies as well, like letting nature's way of solving the global overpopulation and overconsumption problem. In the light of society's focus on longetivity and prolonging health care, this idea implicitly means we ease up on such prolonging efforts.

    THE UGLY: The author tends to have a negative attitude toward religion, specifically evangelical types. He writes about it in a derogatory manner. At one point, he rattles on, blaming the evangelicals for creating directly/indirectly the problems of a sex-crazed culture.

    In the book, creating an 'elder culture' is equivalent to creating a culture of interdependency. There are good observations made by the author. It is also a great opportunity for the young to see the perspective of the elderly, how they have been mistreated. Unfortunately, the combative tones at various aspects of the book may work against his universal call for all toward an interdependent culture.

    conrade
    12 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Tim Lukeman
    4.0 out of 5 stars When I'm more than 64
    Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    In his final non-fiction book -- which in many ways is an updating/expansion of his previous "America the Wise" -- the late Theodore Roszak looks at the promise of age as a source of deeper knowledge & wisdom. He sees it as a second chance for the 1960s generation -- yes, my generation -- to fulfill much of its unrealized potential that was lost along the way, as American culture veered to the right & became more venal, more grasping, more violent, more soulless. A more modest book than its acclaimed predecessor -- "The Making of a Counter-Culture" -- it's also more ... idealistic? hopeful? I'm not quite sure how to label it, but Roszak clearly sees possibilities rather than certainties, perhaps colored by just a touch of wishful thinking. Or perhaps I'm not quite as sanguine as he is about the current direction of American society, though of course I'd love to see it take a more humanistic path once more.

    So. Let's talk about his exploration of age as a new stage of life, one that isn't necessarily doomed to senility & decay. In this, he's returning to a much older view of age, one that goes back millennia, when those who survived to old age were respected & honored for their wisdom. Is that still possible today, in such a youth-oriented culture so obviously terrified of mortality & Nature? Perhaps it is. At least it's a viable & desirable path as Roszak describes it. The prospect of an old age spent in retirement homes or cruise ships is rather ghastly; we need a better model of age than the one we've got right now. And Roszak is proposing just that.

    While he spends a fair amount of his book on the economics of age & the morality of entitlements as a measure of basic human decency, I'm not as interested in that as I am in his more philosophical chapters. I do recognize the necessity of discussing money, of course, but only as a means to an end, not as an end in itself. (Although this does raise some pressing questions about what money is really for, and why we've made it our primary god.)

    No, it's his examination of the deeper issues -- a meaningful life, an awareness of death, a purposeful existence enriched by human growth & learning -- that's the real heart of his book. Here he's really at home, delving into gender roles, the need for men to grow beyond the one-dimensional model of manhood that currently dominates our culture, and the cultivation of truly civilized values & practices in old age, e.g., tenderness, compassion, a longer view of life & time. It's not all that far from Jung's concept of Individuation, working towards wholeness as the rich flowering at the end of a long & full lifetime.

    But is he being "realistic" -- whatever that means in an illusory culture? Given the shallowness of society as it exists today, the possibilities he proposes do seem like something of a long & uncertain shot. But if it's a difficult, even unlikely goal, it remains a positive & life-enhancing one. At the very least, striving to live such a life, even if you're the only one doing so, seems a worthwhile task. And this book is well worth reading, because everyone will reach the point of deciding what really matters in the last part of life eventually -- highly recommended!
    7 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Susan Ann Stauffer, PhD, MSW
    5.0 out of 5 stars Roszak did it again. . .
    Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I have read most of Roszak's work on the longevity revolution. This work has been the most readable, the one that speaks simply and succinctly to the message he evokes - elders have a task to perform for the culture as well as for themselves. His work is eminently provocative and immediately empowering. After reading this book, I want to sit in conversation with every aging person I know, discussing the meaning of an aging society and my part in the creation of "eldertown."
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Michael N. Krastman
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Making of an Elder Culture
    Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    Having read an interview with Theodore Roszak in Macleans Magazine, I was persuaded to buy this book. I was not disappointed. He has done a substantial amount of research and it shows. It was as interesting as it was thought provoking. Every once in a while he shows some partisan 'colours' but on balance his comments are balanced and his points cogent. Perhaps civilization's salvation does indeed lie to a great degree in its aging. A worthwhile addition to anyone's book collection.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • DofB
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but reseller sold a library book.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 4, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Great Book, not happy with reseller for selling a library book.
    Customer image
    DofB
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, but reseller sold a library book.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 4, 2018
    Great Book, not happy with reseller for selling a library book.
    Images in this review
    Customer image
    Customer image
    Report
  • Michael Clancy
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Calling for Boomers to Be Elders
    Reviewed in Canada on May 12, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    excellent book, insights worth knowing

    read it study it you will learn a lot about our responsibility as elders and the pressure from right wing republicans to destroy the good that we have achieved
    Report
  • Doug Wessel
    4.0 out of 5 stars Fun in Sharing
    Reviewed in Canada on June 11, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This turned out to be an excellent read for me with my interests in Succession Planning as the boomers come off the line. I also just had fun reading and sharing what I was learning.
    Report