Dimensions
130 x 197 x 20mm
Why Ageing Is Neither Inevitable Nor Necessary
The world's population is ageing - and will live longer than ever before. How can we make the most of these extra years? Now Tom Kirkwood, one of the world's pioneering researchers into the science of ageing, overturns the common belief that ageing is either necesssary or inevitable. Instead, he shows precisely how - and why - ageing takes place. Compare human ageing to that of other animals; explore why women live longer than men; what is the menopause for?; why do our memories fail as we get older?; ponder whether cancer is inevitable in extreme old age; and look at how ageing affects our bodies and our behaviour.
This book looks at the subject from a variety of perspectives - evolutionary, social, psychological and physiological. It concludes with a superb short story that projects us hundreds of years into the future when most of the symptoms of ageing have been conquered to show us what society could be like. Far from being depressing, this is an accessible, inspirational, life-affirming book.
Above all, Kirkwood urges us to seize the day: if we cannot yet add many more years to our lives, we can add a lot more life to our years.
