Doody's Score: 91, 4 Stars "[This] book's unfading preoccupation with social context, social processes, and social structures distinguishes itself and greatly contributes to the discourse in gerontology."--The Gerontologist This is a comprehensive textbook for both undergraduate and graduate level courses, detailing the impact of societal forces on the aging process. The book focuses on the diversity of the older population, examining it from micro/macro perspectives in order to understand aging and the life course as social phenomena. This latest edition examines significant changes in the field of social gerontology, such as the paradigms of aging and the life course, the baby boomer cohorts as they approach retirement and later life, the growing interest in global aging, and civic engagement. This text encourages students to examine aging from personal, familial, community, societal and global perspectives, including both the positive and negative realities of aging. Key Features: Provides websites of interest at the end of each chapter Presents provocative essays on love, sex, music, medicine, and crime to further expand on chapter contents Provides review questions and key terms as study guides at the end of each chapter