Old Age: A Beginner's Guide

If one reads this book as I just did, it strikes me as appealing to several level of abstraction. On one level, it relates some humorous experiences of the author after he decided to go public with news of his Parkinson's disease. There are pros and cons, of course. But it's still a good read, regardless. At my level, it speaks to the experiences we've had with young identical twin sons who had identical brain tumors removed. My wife and I have never discussed with them their post-operation experiences and attitudes. I assume they're similar to Kinsley's, but they are both living normal (so far as we can tell, anyway) productive lives and we feel it would be an unwanted intrusion to inquire. The question for the jury: should we make them aware of this book or even send them copies? Answer: We don't think so. It would be the equivalent of doing what we've avoided so far--intruding.

Mr. Kinsley has sent us a scout's report on the Boomer Generation's last frontier -- old age and death. Having been diagnosed with Parkinson's before he was 50, Mr. Kinsley has already experienced much of what most of the rest of his generation will have to face in their rapidly approaching 70's and 80's. He reports on how someone with a serious illness moves suddenly into a different category; the sick as opposed to the well, no matter how well you may feel on any given day. He reports on how it is to face a decline in one's capacities, in particular one's intellectual capacities. And he reminds us, gently but firmly, that there's no deferment on this one. The book is funny, realistic, and a good read, and -- for me at least -- remarkably cheerful. I am facing rather sudden deterioration in my own health and in my husband's, and I hesitated to read this, as much as I have always enjoyed Mr. Kinsley's writing. Once I started, however, I kept right on reading, and found it in fact oddly comforting. The last chapter, on how the Boomers could pay down the national debt, is a bit of a loose end, but this book is good enough to excuse a short trip into fantasy.

I thought I could recommend M. Kinsley’s “Old Age: A Beginner’s Guide.” I ought to have known that Michael Kinsley’s Old Age: A Beginner’s Guide was not about old age, or it could have been had he not played fast and loose with his readers or, maybe those like me who do not know him as well. Had I known him better than I do, I would have known that he was just playing with me, that the book was really about something other, like growing old with an unwelcomed disease like Parkinson’s, or maybe not. Not all of us are as smart as Michael Kinsley. But doesn’t the book say one thing and doesn’t the author do another? I would have expected a writer with Parkinson’s to take it in. I would not recommend the book to a good friend who is growing old with Parkinson’s. My wife and I notice the changes that have taken place since he and his wife last visited on those weekends that we get together for season of plays at the Long Wharf. But, even as I had to reckon with the baggage Michael Kinsley lays on, I was somewhat pleased with the outcome. I don’t know if I can recite my telephone number backwards at eighty-four. I just tried and decided not to try any more. I’m presently more concerned with the ability to walk around the first floor of the mall with a cane without weaving for the pedestrian traffic or weaving because I cannot follow a straight line along the floor, even if there is a clear path ahead of me. I suppose that I would still recommend the book because each one of us has a reason to look back or ahead as therapy. My own organs started, some years ago, to betray me. The latest “betrayal’ as Kinsley calls it took place when I got home from a library class on writing, and my wife told me, after greeting me in the kitchen, that I was out of my mind, and I was. The doctor at the hospital saw me pass blood and in the next hour I was in surgery, and the nursing staff was prepping me for the surgeon who would remove the tumor. Lucky me. I’m cancer free. As long as Michael continues writing books about growing old, I would love to read more.

Kinsley brings his insight and writing skill to the reality of facing the last stages of life, especially with Parkinson's Disease. This unpredictable condition can drastically affect cognition, especially one's recognition that things are changing. For Kinsley, however, it has opened deeper insights into aging. For boomers who studiously pretend it isn't happening, his book is a refreshing and immensely readable exception.

Thought it might be amusing since I'm 67. It wasn't. Should have believed the other reviews stating it was too biased about Parkinson's. interesting perspective on how to solve the debt crisis, but that was at about 90% completion of the book. Good Luck Michael

I had my first truly senior moment yesterday when I was confronted with what to do with our 4 dogs while our Cleaning lady was trying to do her job. It was 100 degrees outside, the phone was constantly ringing with robo-calls, my wife was in a tizzy about a sudden Doctor's appointment, and I stood there like a lump on a log unable to decide to either locked them out on the pool deck (there is a lot of shade and water, you bleeding hearts) or locked them inside in a cool room but without a doggie door. With my wife saying "WELL?" in a voice that indicated dog food for supper unless I decided, I was frozen, rooted to the spot, unable to make a decision. While I am 5 years older then the author and I have a much milder form of a Parkinson like disease ("essential tremors"-but why they are "essential" I have never been told) then the author, when I picked up a copy (on the basis of a review in the Wall Street Journal) I was hoping to be enlightened and entertained with hopefully amusing anecdotes of how he is dealing with the situation of growing old. I was disappointed. All the chapters until the last gave no such lasting insight or amusement, and the last chapter, completely unexpected, is a ridiculous attempt to equal the achievements of the "Greatest Generation" (who won WWII) by having the "Baby Boomer's" pay down America's "debt" which he pegged at 17 Trillion dollars. Why? He never truly answers this, spouting some generalizations about how debt is "bad" for our national character. Who do we owe this debt too? Ourselves, the Chinese, The Canadians, The Japanese, the Saudis and others. So what? If we default (and we will never default unless Ted Cruz has his way), are our creditors going to repossess the Statue of Liberty, take the Empire State building to Beijing, charge admission to the Grand Canyon (at least more so then our National Park Service does, indirectly, today?) No. So then, why end a rather simple little book about coping with old age and illness with a pointless political aside. I don't know why, but avoid this book.

4 Stars according to the Amazon guide means "I liked it"--but I add here: "I didn't love it". I would have except for the last chapter in which Mr. Kinsley illogically advocates for the Boomers paying off the National Debt; "how to" is a bit muddled and fantastical, and certainly out of character with the thought provoking theme of the other chapters. Except for that chapter I understand the book is a reprint of earlier articles written by Mr. Kinsley for the many prestigious publications with which he has been associated, primarily discussing his ongoing Parkinson's Disease, a journey I am also on. So I probably found his experience and insight more interesting than most casual readers, in fact that's why I bought it, and had he ended it there with some final thoughts he would have had my undying (a pun intended) praise and maybe a "I loved it" 5 stars. Instead he goes off the rails in the last chapter, obviously written much later than the prior articles, and lacking the verve, vitality and wit, and more to the point, the insight of those writings, but perhaps illustrating the warnings about the progress of our disease. And maybe that was his unknowing purpose for crashing the train before getting to the station of an otherwise thought provoking collection of his essays. But it was inevitable, as I know, and Mr. Kinsley explains.

The book is very uneven. Michael Kinsley had me at "hello"...I loved his observations of older people. Being a boomer myself I am trying to learn what IS typical of old folks and try NOT be like them, hehe. I don't want to stop strangers doing their laps in a swimming pool, to tell them how old I am, and what I used to do for a living. The author is witty and self deprecating. I liked his assessment of the problem of having to give up driving - and I really thought highly of him for doing it for his wife. I appreciated the info about Parkinson's, found it all interesting. But then...then Kinsley went on to ramble about the national debt and Americans becoming Islam-Nazis. I do not share his political opinions and I bought his book to read about old age and NOT to find out what Mr. Kinsley thinks about inheritance tax. He is certainly entitled to an opinion on that, I just think I was duped to pay for reading it. Overall I enjoyed reading the first half of the book tremendously...but the book is not that long, so - I enjoyed it for just a little while.

I haven't finished reading it yet. It's part of my ongoing research. I am writing my own book about ageing. This one is pretty good, ;tactical but not terribly well written. Useful, though.

I am sorry I waited so long to purchase this book. Definitely buy, don't wait to borrow! A pithy journal from Kinsley during his geriatric, disease-ridden later life. Full of humour, science, and home-truths. For anyone with wisdom about the fragility of life, those interested in Parkinsons', and fans of Vanity Fair style wit!

Well written, title very good. More about Parkinsons though than I had expected. Read about the book in Time Magazine .

Not finished reading yet

Mostly consists of statements of the blatant obvious. Very American and mentions lots of people politics etc anyone foreign doesn't care about. Useful notes on Parkinson's.