Time of Our Lives: the Science of Human Ageing - Hardcover

The blurb on the cover of this book may be slightly misleading; "A world authority shows why ageing is neither inevitable nor necessary". This is true, for he does show theoretically why there is no need for us to age, ie that there is no "death gene" which determines, more or less precisely, our longevity. Just don't expect any miracle cures. From a layman's viewpoint, the evolutionary argument he constructs for the development of ageing in species is well-elucidated and highly convincing. Ageing is not, according to the Disposable Soma theory expounded here, anything to do with population control or some such crudely deterministic mechanism, but rather the genes making the best of what are, after all, limited energy resources. Our soma cells (anything but the all-important and immortal germ-line cells by which we reproduce) are constantly being replicated, a process which, carried out in any sort of energy efficient manner, leaves room for error. And these errors are cumulative in effect; though the process is generally remarkably accurate, a faultily constructed cell cannot produce a perfect cell and eventually our bodies will go wrong with fatal consequences. This mattered less when the conditions of life were such that reaching a state of senescence was relatively rare. With the change in these conditions found in modern industrialised countries, the effects of this process have taken on a far greater significance though. As well as the science (all very accessible to the non-scientist) Tom Kirkwood also engages the reader in an interesting and important discussion of the social and cultural implications of these changed conditions. For the time being though, as far as you and I are concerned, ageing is still inevitable. This book doesn't offer the hope of evading death or even delaying it that significantly, but it does offer up some hope; understanding a process can help to demystify it and dispel fear, and, as he illustrates, it can help us to try and intelligently influence the processes at work in our favour. An excellently written popular science book for anyone who is concerned with the onslaught of the years. --Alisdair Bowles

A cutting-edge account of how and why we grow old.
Tom Kirkwood, Britain's only Professor of Biological Gerontology, explores the remarkable science of human ageing. His ground-breaking book examines closely the question of why we age at all; how human ageing compares to that of other animal species; why women live longer than men; what the menopause is for; why our memories fail as we get older; whether cancer is inevitable in extreme old age; and how ageing affects our bodies and our behaviour.

Looking at the subject from a variety of perspectives -- evolutionary, social, psychological and physiological -- and written with the story-telling skills of a journalist and the authority of a world-class scientist, Time of Our Lives gives a cutting-edge account of this crucial subject, with insights that illuminate and delight on almost every page. It concludes with a superb short story that projects us hundreds of years into the future when most of the symptoms of ageing have been conquered to show us what society could be like.

Far from being depressing, this is an accessible, inspirational, life-affirming book.