This book by one of Italy’s oldest and wisest intellectuals is a
philosophical and personal meditation on ageing. The question of
old age has preoccupied writers from Cicero to Améry, but in
this volume Norberto Bobbio produces an account that is specific to
our times. Born in 1909, Bobbio has lived through the major events
of the past century, and his experiences of Fascism, Communism and
the Cold War lend his reflections a melancholy that distinguishes
them from earlier eulogies on old age and death. Bobbio’s
conclusions are often sobering, yet his investigation into memory
and mortality is written with both humour and emotion.
In the opening chapter, Bobbio reassesses the notion of progress
from the perspective of an old man. Arguing for an understanding of
historical change as the transfer between generations, Bobbio
explains how the elderly are increasingly marginalized in
contemporary society. Referring to the traditional idea of old age
as the ‘age of wisdom’, Bobbio argues that our ever-accelerating
technological progress has dramatically shifted the power of
knowledge from old to young. This discussion of old age as a social
problem is accompanied by a reflection on old age as a personal
predicament. In his elegant and lucid prose, Bobbio confronts the
facts of decrepitude and death. In taking stock of his life, he
argues once again for the importance of democracy and human
rights.
This is a beautifully written book that will be of great
interest to the academic and general reader alike. Its intellectual
content renders it of particular value to students in the fields of
philosophy, politics and the social sciences.

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