This volume is in part the result of a project originated at the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern California. Each of five contributors examines the aging process in a particular society in order "to discover common themes punctuating the lives of informants, similar threads of experience and meaning transcending more superficial cultural and situational differences." The method used to study these diverse groups is that of the life history which is, in the editor′s view, particularly appropriate to a study of the elderly who are often actively engaged in reviewing and interpreting their own lives. "The book could open up a fruitful controversy in social gerontology and should become part of the library of every social gerontologist." --Contemporary Sociology "A unique contribution to cross-cultural studies in aging." --Choice "Worthwhile reading for any human service professional dealing with the aged." --Social Work