Riley Burnham enterprises

lingering thoughts

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

"Old Age" by Michael Kinsley

"Old Age" by Michael Kinsley

book review by Riley Burnham 12/5/2023

well... hmmm...

on the one hand: short, easy, simple... we get the first-hand account of a [famous?] public figure/writer/political aide(?) facing his twilight years while having Parkinson's... he gets into interesting details about the experience, as well as witnessing it in others, joking about it, & the fine balance between longer life & more quality [or, as he puts it, having all your marbles] -- w/ the intimation being it's rare/lucky to get BOTH long life & retained mental faculties -- typically, he says, one outweighs the other...

the flip side: sounds like he worked in government & was an opinion writer for LA Times or similar LA paper; as well as HARPING on some "history" that i think is mostly fabrication/theater... so grain of salt warning

basically, tho, it's a pretty good book talking about the end of life & briefly Parkinson's specifically, w/ a throughline of politics/economy...

glad i read it