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1 of 1 copy available
The notorious baby boomers—the largest age cohort in history—are approaching the end and starting to plan their final moves in the game of life. Now they are asking: What was that all about? Was it about acquiring things or changing the world? Was it about keeping all your marbles? Or is the only thing that counts after you’re gone the reputation you leave behind?
In this series of essays, Michael Kinsley uses his own battle with Parkinson’s disease to unearth answers to questions we are all at some time forced to confront. “Sometimes,” he writes, “I feel like a scout from my generation, sent out ahead to experience in my fifties what even the healthiest Boomers are going to experience in their sixties, seventies, or eighties.”
This surprisingly cheerful book is at once a fresh assessment of a generation and a frequently funny account of one man’s journey toward the finish line. “The least misfortune can do to make up for itself is to be interesting,” he writes. “Parkinson’s disease has fulfilled that obligation.”
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 26, 2016 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780147526786
- File size: 104879 KB
- Duration: 03:38:29
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Political journalist Kinsley, who revealed he has Parkinson's disease in 2002, reads the foreword and introduction of his surprisingly uplifting meditation on aging. When narrator Danny Campbell takes over, his tone and vocal maturity sound a lot like Kinsley's. Adding the appealing texture of his utterly authentic phrasing, Campbell's performance is ideal for this intelligent book. The writer's neurological symptoms jump-started his awareness of the slide toward death, so he used his condition to examine the myriad ways people deal not just with dying but with how well they live. Writing as both thoughtful memoirist and diligent reporter, Kinsley offers convincingly cheery insights and satisfying perspectives. With Danny Campbell reading, the book's message acquires the power to captivate an even wider audience. T.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine -
February 29, 2016
In this collection of eight essays, Kinsley (Please Don’t Remain Calm), a columnist at Vanity Fair, a New Yorker contributor, and the founder of Slate, proposes—somewhat facetiously—that life is a game in which all of us are in competition. As such, he asks, what does it mean to “win” at life? Does it pay off to have the most possessions, live the longest, or be remembered best? Kinsley doesn’t really present an answer, but it’s enjoyable to follow his train of thought. The focus is ultimately on coming to terms with the final chapter of life, which, in Kinsley’s case, means coming to terms with being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Throughout, Kinsley showcases his fine writing, tackling a potentially depressing subject with a mixture of humor and serious reflection. Though targeted most specifically to Kinsley’s own generation of the baby boomers, the book might be helpful for anyone who has a progressive illness. Readers are almost forced to accept the premise of life as competition, as it appears time and again throughout, and some may find this disconcerting. However, Kinsley’s superb prose and well-judged tone—both frustrated and hopeful for the future—make this a valuable book for anyone interested in exploring ideas around life, death, and legacy.
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