Beyond Sixty-Five: The Dilemma of Old Age in America's Past.

BEYOND SIXTY-FIVE: The Dilemma of Old Age In America's Past. By Carole Haber, PhD. Cambridge University Press, 32 East 57th St., New York, NY 10022. Paperback $8.95

The author of "Beyond Sixty-five: The Dilemma of Old Age in America's Past" is associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina, has her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, and was 32 years old when the book was published. It's nice to see the young interested in the aged, and that aging has become a field in the academic industry. Dr. Haber herself calls her book a scholarly monograph; but it is a readable one for all of us.

Is it, however, for or about nursing homes? No, the term nursing home is not even in the index; the emphasis is historic; and there are no lessons or tips for nursing homes management or operations.

An obvious (and cynical) use of the book would be to hand it to any of today's nursing homes' critics and say, "See, how much worse things were in the past." Nonetheless, I recommend "Beyond Sixty-five" for institutional libraries and professional bookshelves.

Its introduction, six chapters, conclusion, and 45 pages of notes describe and comment on aging in Colonial America, theories and practices of the 19th century, medical models, welfare concepts, and effects of 20th century pension and bureaucratic programs.

Haber's thesis, put briefly, is that the beliefs held by the doctors, sociologists, and welfare advocates of the 19th century have constrained the policies and practices of today; that our contemporary aging programs are based -for good or bad on the ideas and institutions of long ago. She certainly makes one ready to question the assumptions and claims of those who purport to speak for the elderly.

Apparently Dr. Haber hasn't heard from the older faculty members of her universities that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA, PL 95-256) in 1978 made the retirement age in the U.S. to be 70 not 65. Many states and localities have passed laws (or are ...