Old Man Country

We aspire to live in a country where old men are celebrated as vital elders but not demeaned if they become ill and dependent. We aspire to maintain health as well as maintain dignity and fulfillment in frailty. Old Man Country helps readers see and imagine these possibilities for themselves. The book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom, as he encounters twelve distinguished American men over 80 -- including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world's most famous heart surgeon. In these and other intimate conversations, the book explores and honors the particular way that each man faces four challenges of living a good old age: Am I still a man? Do I still matter? What is the meaning of my life? Am I loved? Readers will come to see how each man -- even the most famous -- faces universal challenges. Personal stories about work, love, sexuality, and hope mingle with stories about illness, loss and death. This book will strengthen each of us as we and our loved ones anticipate and navigate our way through the passages of old age.

Thomas R. Cole is the McGovern Chair and Director of the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. His work has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, and PBS. Cole has served as an advisor to the President's Council on Bioethics and the United Nations NGO Committee on Ageing. His book The Journey of Life: A Cultural History of Aging in America was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He is Senior Editor of The Oxford Book of Aging, which the New Yorker cited as one of the most memorable books of the year. Cole's book No Color Is My Kind: the Life of Eldrewey Stearns and the Desegregation of Houston (1997) was adapted into the film, The Strange Demise of Jim Crow, which was broadcast nationally on over 60 PBS stations. In 2007, he co-produced Stroke: Conversations and Explanations, a prize-winning film about the invisible world of stroke survivors.

Chapter One: What My Fathers Couldn't Find Chapter Two: Setting Out on Life's Journey
PART ONE: AM I STILL A MAN? Chapter Three: George Vaillant and American Manhood Chapter Four: Red Duke, the Cowboy Surgeon Chapter Five: Sherwin Nuland: The Old Man Who Was Young and Strong PART TWO: DO I STILL MATTER? Chapter Six: The Moral World of Paul Volcker Chapter Seven: Denton Cooley and the Legacy of 100,000 Hearts Chapter Eight: John Harper Gets by with a little Help from his Friends PART THREE: WHAT IS THE MEANING OF MY LIFE? Chapter Nine: Hugh Downs: TV Broadcaster as Modern Day Cicero Chapter Ten: Sam Karff and the Power of Stories Chapter Eleven: James Forbes: Old Man by the Riverside PART FOUR: AM I LOVED? Chapter Twelve: Dan Callahan: Love in the Old Age of Ethics Chapter Thirteen: Walter Wink: Nonviolent Resistance and Dementia Chapter Fourteen: Ram Dass and Me
INTERLUDE: WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? Chapter Fifteen: Gleanings for the Path Ahead
References