Social Integration in the Second Half of Life

"Pillemer and colleagues, in their excellent review of social integration at the threshold of the 21st century, document the problems of mid-lifers and elders as they seek social integration, that is, a life with people."

"Karl Pillemer, Phyllis Moen, Elaine Wethington, and Nina Glasgow succeed admirably in giving social integration a contemporary focus using a life-course perspective that emphasizes institutional context, linked lives, and processes of development and change. They should be congratulated on this insightful volume integrating theory and research on social integration and the larger issue of successful aging. Researchers and practitioners alike will find this clearly written and well-organized book a very useful reference. Moreover, it could be used in graduate courses in gerontology because of its content and focus or in research methods for its excellent examples of sociological research."

"This edited volume contains an excellent collection of contributions that not only take a more careful look at social integration in aging, but consider practical means of enhancing the integration process."

"This volume will stand for years to come as a widely cited summary document that pulls together both existing literature and original findings. The scholarship is exemplary and the insights are laudable. Because of the book's intrinsic merit, it will approach the status of 'handbook' on social integration and therefore will be tantamount to required reading in graduate-level social gerontology classes."