Also of interest...in truths about aging

The Longevity Project

by Howard S. Friedman & Leslie R. Martin

(Hudson Street, $26)

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This book’s psychologist authors have mined data from a unique study to put us a few steps closer to finding the Fountain of Youth, said Laura Landro in The Wall Street Journal. The Terman Study, which followed 1,500 bright Californians from school age to death, yielded some eye-opening results. Among them: “Cheerful children” lived shorter lives than their “sober” classmates, whose conscientiousness and hard work seemed to pay off in greater longevity.

Lastingness: The Art of Old Age

by Nicholas Delbanco

(Grand Central, $25)

Nicholas Delbanco is not so sure that it’s better to burn out than to fade away, said Helen Gallagher in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Studying the work produced late in life by various artists, writers, and composers, the veteran author “lets us explore the lifelong habits that kept such people as Haydn, Monet, Picasso, and Georgia O’Keeffe relevant and productive into old age.” The journey suggests that all artists, with the proper mind-set, can gain rather than lose momentum in their twilight years.

Never Say Die

by Susan Jacoby

(Pantheon, $28)

Attention baby boomers: Essayist Susan Jacoby wants you to know that you’re all in a state of denial, said Colette Bancroft in the St. Petersburg, Fla., Times. The media may tell you that “85 is the new 45,” but all the Botox, broccoli, and wishful thinking in the world can’t prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s or the various pains of aging. Jacoby’s “lively, carefully researched” rants aren’t merely entertaining: They point out grave gaps in public policy and individuals’ personal planning.

How We Age

by Marc Agronin

(Da Capo, $25)

Psychiatrist Marc Agronin has an optimistic view of old age despite being an intimate witness to its “very real limitations,” said Stephen J. Lyons in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Agronin, who practices at the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital, supplies “absorbing” case studies that illustrate how to cope with infirmities and celebrate old age’s gifts. This is one doctor “who not only writes poetically but also demonstrates what it means to have respect for our elders.”