The Prolongation of Life: Optimistic Studies

About the Book

Part of the ILC-USA's Classics in Longevity and Aging Series, this book transcends time. Metchnikoff's reasoned discourse speaks to readers in the twenty-first century, although he wrote in response to pressing issues in his adopted country of France in the early 1900s. In 1830, France became the first nation with a growing percentage of old people, and it was feared that the economy could not support its two million who were over 70. Foreshadowing current concerns, the book answers questions we are struggling with today, by putting forth that, with scientific advances in disease prevention and health promotion, longevity would come to be associated with 'the preservation of intelligence and the power to work.'

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