On Retirement - by Daniel Horowitz (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

How longer lives, greater prosperity, and policy shifts are reshaping aging and retirement

Once considered a period of frailty and physical decline, aging and retirement has transformed into a chapter of continued vitality and growth for many Americans. Indeed, medical advancements and government policies opened opportunities for people to live longer and healthier lives, leading to the rise of public discussions over aging and retirement.

On Retirement offers a multi-faceted exploration of how and why retirement, aging, and longevity have emerged as prominent issues in the United States. Written from the perspective of a retired historian, the book assesses the factors that have shaped popular discussions about retirement and aging, from dramatic increases in life expectancy to shifting government policies. The book explores movies, print and new media, senior housing, how-to books, aging organizations, to examine how writers and entrepreneurs have seen and promoted long lives. While popular advice books and media often enforce self-governance narratives to achieve a "successful" retirement, Daniel Horowitz examines how this success is often only accessible through expensive and time-consuming avenues. Moreover, he assesses the socioeconomic and existential challenges most Americans encounter as they age, shaping the choices available to them post-retirement.

Ultimately, the volume assesses that while popular "self-help" perspectives on longevity are shaped by an obsessive interest in doing so successfully, they have failed to account for how dramatic inequalities shape American experiences with retirement. Providing an expansive look into the history of retirement and the profound issues and fears of seniors surrounding finance, health, and longevity, On Retirement examines the changing demographics that have allowed people to live longer and healthier lives and offers a critical assessment of self-governance perspectives within popular retirement advice.

Review Quotes

"America has been getting older by the minute--and has been for decades. We've done so the way we do everything: loudly, chaotically, and democratically. In On Retirement, Daniel Horowitz listens in on that conversation, brilliantly distilling retirement manuals and magazines and TikToks into an elegant narrative about an aging America."--James Chappel, Duke University, Author of Golden Years (2024)

"With a knack for wonderful story telling and fascinating detail and the perspective of an esteemed cultural historian and ever-engaged and curious retired person, Daniel Horowitz offers the general reader a comprehensive look at the experience, dilemmas, and uniqueness of aging in modern America."--Gary Cross, author of Free Time: The History of an Elusive Ideal

About the Author

Daniel Horowitz is Mary Huggins Gamble Professor Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of American Studies at Smith College. He is the author of 7 books including Consuming Pleasures: Intellectuals and Popular Culture in the Postwar World and Happier?: The History of a Cultural Movement That Aspired to Transform America.