Books: Coming Of Age

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Baby boomers are not aging gracefully. We're fighting it every step of the way, making the War on Aging a national crusade, dedicating some of our nation's greatest scientific minds and medical talents to developing new forms of cosmetic surgeries, new exercise contraptions, new diets, new miracle fabrics that camouflage and contain, and all manner of expensive new anti-aging ointments. --Bill Geist, The Big Five-Oh! Facing, Fearing, and Fighting Fifty

When they were 18 years old, their rites of passage into adulthood--civil rights protest, the war in Vietnam, the counterculture--filled the nation's front pages. When they finally married and began families--often much later than their own parents--their family issues became the stuff of sitcoms. Throughout their now advancing lives, the baby boomers have always stood at the demographic center of American life. Their concerns have been the dominant concerns, their passions the dominant passions. So it stands to reason that as the baby-boom generation begins its massive sweep into old age, the age-old problems of this transition into seniority are being rediscovered and re-examined as never before. These are banner years for books about "the elder passage," as writer Robert Raines has labeled it. The spate of material ranges from guides on how to avoid the ravages of aging, to manuals on turning 50, to how-to books on dealing with aging parents and to--the ultimate boomer topic--volumes on death, the one transition that this most youth-oriented generation has been denying since day one.

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

Baby boomers have traditionally wanted it all, so why not eternal youth? As the "gray-by boomers" cross the 50-year line in record numbers, they are lapping up a freshet of books about how to turn back the clock. Life expectancy in the U.S. is at an all-time high. A newborn boy can expect to reach 73.4 years, and a newborn girl 79.3. But extensions of the average life span apparently just make us greedy for a longer, healthier life. That's where fountain-of-youth books come in. Depending upon the author, they promise to help you live longer--to 100 or even beyond.

The covers of books in this genre are too often tarted up with sensational titles and exaggerated claims. But once you get beyond the dust jacket, much of the advice, while hardly earthshaking, tends toward the irrefutable. Who doesn't believe that you're likely to live longer if you eat in a healthy fashion and exercise sensibly? Dipping into these pages can be like having a personal trainer. Whatever your age, they make you feel like jumping out of your chair and running a lap or two. Each author has a favorite technique. But those looking for a miracle will be disappointed. Every program requires careful diet and exercise, not to mention an end to smoking. Caveat emptor: Ponce de Leon never found the fountain of youth, and you probably won't either. But a little reading won't hurt.