Old Age: A Beginner's Guide

If one reads this book as I just did, it strikes me as appealing to several level of abstraction. On one level, it relates some humorous experiences of the author after he decided to go public with news of his Parkinson's disease. There are pros and cons, of course. But it's still a good read, regardless.At my level, it speaks to the experiences we've had with young identical twin sons who had identical brain tumors removed. My wife and I have never discussed with them their post-operation experiences and attitudes. I assume they're similar to Kinsley's, but they are both living normal (so far as we can tell, anyway) productive lives and we feel it would be an unwanted intrusion to inquire.The question for the jury: should we make them aware of this book or even send them copies? Answer: We don't think so. It would be the equivalent of doing what we've avoided so far--intruding.

Helpful book about the author’s experiences with aging and Parkinson’s Disease. Mostly. The last two chapters are nearly-unrelated essays that read like they were tacked-on from the author’s archive of magazine articles because the publisher wanted a higher page count. I recommend skipping the last two chapters; the book is complete without them.

The book is very uneven.Michael Kinsley had me at "hello"...I loved his observations of older people. Being a boomer myself I am trying to learn what IS typical of old folks and try NOT be like them, hehe. I don't want to stop strangers doing their laps in a swimming pool, to tell them how old I am, and what I used to do for a living. The author is witty and self deprecating. I liked his assessment of the problem of having to give up driving - and I really thought highly of him for doing it for his wife. I appreciated the info about Parkinson's, found it all interesting.But then...then Kinsley went on to ramble about the national debt and Americans becoming Islam-Nazis. I do not share his political opinions and I bought his book to read about old age and NOT to find out what Mr. Kinsley thinks about inheritance tax. He is certainly entitled to an opinion on that, I just think I was duped to pay for reading it. Overall I enjoyed reading the first half of the book tremendously...but the book is not that long, so - I enjoyed it for just a little while.

Kinsley brings his insight and writing skill to the reality of facing the last stages of life, especially with Parkinson's Disease. This unpredictable condition can drastically affect cognition, especially one's recognition that things are changing. For Kinsley, however, it has opened deeper insights into aging. For boomers who studiously pretend it isn't happening, his book is a refreshing and immensely readable exception.

This book is described as being more than a description of what it is like to live with Parkinson's disease; and, I agree with that statement. However, I feel most of the book consists of unrelated asides the author thinks enhances his last statement, utterances about his political stance, or parenthetical statements that were supposed to, but did not, make us laugh out loud and complement a statement. I found them very distracting. Further, the author writes in a style that seems to replicate a voice recording. Organization was at a minimum; the titles of each chapter merely serving as a starting point for a particular set of ramblings. And, by the end of each chapter, the author is taking about some unrelated topic. Save your money; this book is a huge disappointment.

I had my first truly senior moment yesterday when I was confronted with what to do with our 4 dogs while our Cleaning lady was trying to do her job. It was 100 degrees outside, the phone was constantly ringing with robo-calls, my wife was in a tizzy about a sudden Doctor's appointment, and I stood there like a lump on a log unable to decide to either locked them out on the pool deck (there is a lot of shade and water, you bleeding hearts) or locked them inside in a cool room but without a doggie door. With my wife saying "WELL?" in a voice that indicated dog food for supper unless I decided, I was frozen, rooted to the spot, unable to make a decision.While I am 5 years older then the author and I have a much milder form of a Parkinson like disease ("essential tremors"-but why they are "essential" I have never been told) then the author, when I picked up a copy (on the basis of a review in the Wall Street Journal) I was hoping to be enlightened and entertained with hopefully amusing anecdotes of how he is dealing with the situation of growing old.I was disappointed. All the chapters until the last gave no such lasting insight or amusement, and the last chapter, completely unexpected, is a ridiculous attempt to equal the achievements of the "Greatest Generation" (who won WWII) by having the "Baby Boomer's" pay down America's "debt" which he pegged at 17 Trillion dollars. Why? He never truly answers this, spouting some generalizations about how debt is "bad" for our national character. Who do we owe this debt too? Ourselves, the Chinese, The Canadians, The Japanese, the Saudis and others. So what? If we default (and we will never default unless Ted Cruz has his way), are our creditors going to repossess the Statue of Liberty, take the Empire State building to Beijing, charge admission to the Grand Canyon (at least more so then our National Park Service does, indirectly, today?) No. So then, why end a rather simple little book about coping with old age and illness with a pointless political aside.I don't know why, but avoid this book.

I am sorry I waited so long to purchase this book. Definitely buy, don't wait to borrow! A pithy journal from Kinsley during his geriatric, disease-ridden later life. Full of humour, science, and home-truths. For anyone with wisdom about the fragility of life, those interested in Parkinsons', and fans of Vanity Fair style wit!

I haven't finished reading it yet. It's part of my ongoing research. I am writing my own book about ageing. This one is pretty good, ;tactical but not terribly well written. Useful, though.

:)

Well written, title very good. More about Parkinsons though than I had expected. Read about the book in Time Magazine .

I am 85 and reading this witty, well written, and fascinating book made me face the truth and feel somehow liberated. It was as though this mud had cleared and I was looking into clear water - blue Greek seas. The very great fear was confronted head on. Thank you, Michael Kinsley.