What? A how-to-make-your-life-better-book with more than the ubiquitous seven ways of doing so? In Rules for Aging: Resist Normal Impulses, Live Longer, Attain Perfection, acclaimed essayist and NewsHour with Jim Lehrer regular contributor Roger Rosenblatt boldly offers up a whopping 56 rules for wisely navigating life into your golden years.

Rosenblatt describes the short book (only 140 pages), which began with a column he wrote for Modern Maturity, as a "little guide intended for people who wish to age successfully, or at all." He adds that "growing older is as much an art as it is a science, and it requires fewer things to do than not to do."

Ranging from the fatalistic (rule 1: "It doesn't matter") to the highly practical (rule 26: "Never go to a cocktail party and, in any case, do not stay more than 20 minutes"), rule 2 best illustrates the tone for much of what follows ("Nobody is thinking about you"):

Yes, I know, you are certain that your friends are becoming your enemies; that your grocer, garbage man, clergyman, sister-in-law, and your dog are all of the opinion that you have put on weight, that you have lost your touch, that you have lost your mind; furthermore, you are convinced that everyone spends two-thirds of every day commenting on your disintegration, denigrating your work, plotting your assassination. I promise you: Nobody is thinking about you. They are thinking about themselves--just like you.

Other notables include "Let bad enough alone" (rule 3), "Stay clear of anyone--other than a clergyman--who refers to God more than once in an hour" (rule 8), "Do not attempt to improve anyone, especially when you know it will help" (rule 29), "The unexamined life lasts longer" (rule 40), "Change no more than one-eighth of your life at a time" (rule 48), and "The game is played away from the ball" (rule 55). Nowhere will you find talk of antioxidants or exercise or anything resembling a detox program. Rosenblatt is no health nut, and there is already plenty of material available on that. What you will encounter instead is a gifted writer clearly enjoying his craft, making this slim volume a welcome poke at and departure from the more predictable antiaging fare. --Patrick Jennings


From Library Journal
A multiple-award-winning essayist/ journalist who is currently editor-at-large at Time, Rosenblatt offers sage bits of advice in this nice, neat package. Our favorite: Whatever you think matters, doesn't. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Acclaimed and beloved prize-winning essayist Roger Rosenblatt has commented on most of the trends and events of our time. His columns in Time magazine and his commentaries on PBS's News Hour with Jim Lehrer have made him a household word and a trusted friend of millions. With a wry sense of humor and inimitable wit, Rosenblatt offers here guidelines for aging that are both easy to understand and, more importantly, easy to implement.

More and more in the news today, we are hearing about phenomenal advances in the "fight against aging." But what Rosenblatt suggests to combat age is far more valuable than any scientific breakthrough-he breaks down the hardest part of aging, the mental anguish of growing older with fifty-four gems of funny, brilliant, wise, indispensable advice.

A book to savor, a book to keep, and a book for all ages.

This little guide is intended for people who wish to age successfully, or at all. . . . One may think of this work as a how-to book, akin to many health guides published these days, whose purpose is to prolong our lives and make them richer. That is the aim of my book, too. -from the Introduction

And this is just the start of Roger Rosenblatt's charming and thought-provoking guide to surviving the episodes that shamelessly shave years off of our lives. With a wry sense of humor and peerless wit, Rules for Aging provides guidance that is, hands down, the most practical, pleasurable and, most importantly, painless advice you'll ever receive. As Rosenblatt writes, "When I urge you to refrain from a certain thought or course of action, I do not mean to suggest that you are in any way wrong if you do the opposite. I mean only to say that you will suffer."

Rule #1: It doesn't matter

Whatever you think matters-doesn't. Follow this rule, and it will add decades to your life. It does not matter if you are late, or early; if you are here, or if you are there; if you said it, or did not say it; if you were clever, or if you were stupid; if you are having a bad hair day, or a no hair day; if your boss looks at you cockeyed; if your girlfriend or boyfriend looks at you cockeyed; if you don't get that promotion, or prize, or house, or if you do. It doesn't matter.

FROM THE CRITICS

A hilarious guide to life . . . Bottom Line: Laughter and wisdom.

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