Tom Kirkwood, Britain's only Professor of Biological Gerontology, explores the fascinating science of ageing. His ground-breaking new book examines closely the question of why we age at all; how human ageing compares to that of other animal species; why women live longer than men; what the menopause is for; why our memories fail as we get older; whether cancer is inevitable in extreme old age; and how ageing affects our bodies and our behaviour. Looking at the subject from a variety of perspectives - evolutionary, social, psychological and physiological - and written with the story-telling skills of a journalist and the authority of a world class scientist, this book provides a fully up-to-date view of this crucial subject, as well as insights that delight on almost every page. It concludes with a superb short story that projects us hundreds of years into the future when most of the symptoms of ageing have been conquered to show us what society could be like. Far from being depressing, this is an accessible, inspirational, life-affirming book.