The Fountain of Age

Aging, Fall, 1994

The Fountain of Age, by Betty Friedan. When her friends and family threw a surprise party for her 60th birthday, Betty Friedan -- author of The Feminine Mystique, founder of the National Organization for Women, and fierce advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment -- was furious. "I could have killed them all," she writes. After a lifetime of activism, she felt she was being pushed over the edge of life -- "out of the race, professionally, politically, personally, sexually." Friedan's new book is her response to the negative stereotypes of old age that pervade our culture, even affecting the field of gerontology which, she claims, views aging primarily as a decline. This perception is not only limiting, she says, but clearly misguided, since studies show that we develop new abilities as we age to compensate for creeping physical infirmities. "We are only beginning to study the qualities that emerge in people after youth," Friedan points out.

Her book is based on both scientific findings and hundreds of interviews with vital older people conducted over a 10-year period. In a review of Friedan's book, Stuart P. Rosenthal, publisher of the Greater Washington Senior Beacon, writes, "I have not come across another book with the power and insight of Betty Friedan's new work, The Fountain of Age... It is my sincere hope that she raises the consciousness not only of those older persons who have failed to pursue their dreams, but also of the baby boomers and younger citizens, the businessmen and doctors, who need to wake up to the new, vital reality of aging today." Published by Simon & Schuster, 1993. $25 (hardcover).

National Directory of Educational Programs in Gerontology and Geriatrics. Sixth Edition. Edited by Joy C. Lobenstein. Based on a survey conducted by the Administration on Aging (AoA), this directory contains information on over 950 gerontological programs on over 500 campuses in the U.S. and abroad. The directory's listings include, for each institution, an overview of the gerontology curriculum, other educational and research activities, financial aid available, and a contact person at the school. Published by the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE). Expected to be in print in early February, 1994. Approximately 500 pp., $39 for AGHE members; $54 for non-members. To order, send check to AGHE Directory, 1001 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 410, Washington, DC 20036. For further information, call (202) 429-9277.

National Database on Gerontology in Higher Education. Derived from the same AoA-funded survey that served as the basis for the above directory, this computerized database lists programs by educational level, geographical area, and field of study within aging. Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE). Ongoing, continuous updating. $10 for students at AGHE member institutions; $15 for students at non-member institutions. To obtain a Request for Search Form, write AGHE at the address listed above.

Human Aging: Biological Perspectives by Augustine Gaspar DiGiovanna, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biology at Salisbury State University in Salisbury, Maryland. This new book is designed to be a text for a 1-semester introductory level college course that emphasizes, or is devoted entirely to, the biology of aging in humans. The book is geared to students with little or no background in science who are pursuing careers involving work with the elderly. Individual chapters present the structure and function of each body system, followed by natural changes that accompany aging, and conclude with abnormal changes or disease conditions in the elderly.

Throughout, the author emphasizes prevention and compensatory techniques (focused on diet and exercise) to minimize adverse effects of aging, abnormal conditions, and diseases. Real-life examples are used to support a positive perspective on aging. The text includes an extensive set of illustrations, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index. To be published in 1994 by McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y. 35 pp., approx. $30 (paperback).