Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Synopsis
This is the first book-length study of the history of gerontology. It shows how old age became a 'problem' worth investigating and how a mulitidisciplinary orientation took shape.
Library Journal
Gerontology is an interdisciplinary background fight whose practitioners apply theories and methods from such disciplines as psychology, sociology, anthropology, and biology to gain an understanding of human aging. The growth of the older population increased interest in the aging process and led to the creation of professional organizations and a body of specialized literature. But gerontology has a long way to go before it becomes a true scientific specialty, says Achenbaum (Univ. of Michigan's Institute of Gerontology). As yet there are no definitive theories of aging and few common research techniques to unite the discipline. Heavily footnoted, well researched, and scholarly, this book is the first to trace the history of gerontology from its roots in 19th-century physiology to today's highly competitive research centers. For academic collections specializing in gerontology or scientific history.Karen McNally Bensing, Benjamin Rose Inst. Lib., Cleveland