oA truly OrevisionaryO interpretation of the cultural and structural forces that shaped the elderlyOs lives from the colonial period to the present. Lucid and controversial, [it] is bound to be widely cited and hotly contested.O NW. Andrew Achenbaum oThe most important contribution to the history of aging since the publication of David Hackett FischerOs ...Growing Old in America.O NJill Quadagno This social history of the American elderly offers a provocative new view of aging in the United States. Focusing on family life, work and retirement, economic well-being, institutionalization, and advice to the elderly, it chronicles the fortunes of older Americans through the preindustrial, industrial, and post-Social Security periods. Haber and Gratton trace the cultural evolution of ageism, analyze how the family life of the aged is linked to class, ethnicity, region, and gender, and examine how industrialization affected work and retirement patterns for older people. They revise traditional assumptions about the economic status of the old and challenge the long-held contention that industrialization destroyed family relationships. Their book will surely foster debate and may well alter our view of the history of aging in America.