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Book Review: Gerontology in the Era of the Third Age: Implications and Next Steps

The “Third Age,” that period of time in which people are retired from work and remain healthy, is of increasing interest world-wide. As editors of Gerontology in the Era of the Third Age, Dawn Carr and Kathrin Comp explore how this time period is changing our understanding of what it means to be an older adult. The diversity of the Third Age is reflected by the range of authors and approaches incorporated in this book; 12 chapters discuss current developments and future directions for Third Age research. I like to think of this book as a recipe book that amalgamates various flavors of the Third Age from authors with different tastes. A “global perspective” is offered, with contributions from the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Canada, and (mainly) the United States. The book is divided into three parts: “Theoretical Development and Frameworks in the Era of the Third Age,” “Methodological Approaches for Third Age Research,” and “Emerging Themes and Controversies in the Era of the Third Age.” In part one, Phyllis Moen draws on American research to highlight the importance of taking a life-course approach to understand the Third Age. Putting emphasis on time and society, she suggests that the Third Age is emerging as an institution. She stresses that future research needs to investigate how “individuals construct their own meanings surrounding this emerging life stage” because this will have “repercussions in terms of . . . relationships . . . identity . . . and physical/mental health” (p. 23). In contrast, Chris Gilleard and Paul Higgs (chapter 2) shift the focus and view the Third Age through a wider, cultural lens. They propose that the Third Age “is revealed in lifestyle rather than structured by identity” (p. 45). Rather than think of the Third Age as a new life stage, they draw upon the work of Karl Mannheim and Pierre Bourdieu to conceptualize the Third Age as a cultural field and posit Third Agers as people who practice the associated generational habitus. Their cultural perspective attributes