What Should Be the Next Steps for the Field of Gerontology?

Abstract

In their edited book entitled Gerontology in the Era of the Third Age, Dawn Carr and Kathrin Komp deliver a very interesting collection of chapters that address the concept of the “Third Age” from various perspectives. In the introduction of the book, the authors broadly define the Third Age as “the period of healthy retirement in later years” (p. 4). In the rest of the book, each contributor presents his/her own definition of the concept and discusses its potential merits, challenges, problems, and controversies. “Third-agers” who stay active and productive in their healthy later years after retirement are often contrasted against “fourth-agers” who have become physically frail and thus need support from others. Throughout the book, the concept of the Third Age is critically examined to represent an emerging group of older adults or a phase of life during which good health and personal time afforded by the transition of retirement present a wide range of opportunities and potential for both older adults and society. The book consists of three parts, each of which addresses a distinctive set of issues surrounding the concept of the Third Age. I liked that each chapter consistently has a section called “Future Steps: Issues to Consider,” where contributors point out areas of improvement and issues to be further examined in relation to their own points of view regarding the Third Age.

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