Shock of Gray:
The Aging of the World’s Population and
How It Pits Young Against Old, Child Against
Parent, Worker Against Boss, Company Against
Rival and Nation Against Nation
by Ted Fishman
HQ1061 .F55 2010
New Book Island, 2nd floor
The first professional meeting that I attended, in which I was a young librarian-in-training, focused on the topic of generational issues in the workplace. Being the ONLY Generation Y/Millennial in the audience, I got my first taste of the discord that can arise from the separation of life experience. [Fortunately, I have wonderful colleagues here, regardless of generation.] I bring up this story because this week’s featured title centers around just what a longer life expectancy means for the world.
Fishman, journalist and best-selling author, tackles the issue of people living longer lives. While it may sound like a huge health and developmental breakthrough, there are societal ramifications for an older population that must be considered. The author addresses the impacts a ‘seasoned’ workforce has on a nation’s economy, from the inability to find young workers to the burden on the health care system. He utilizes interviews with business professionals to economists to gerontologists to provide of a view of the future that looks a whole lot grayer than now.
