The Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, provides a comprehensive synthesis and review of the latest research findings in the social sciences of aging, it is intended as a summary for researchers and is also suitable as a high-level textbook for graduate and upper-level undergraduate courses. New topics not in the previous edition form 72% of the work, while topics retained from the previous edition are newly covered by different authors in all but one instance.<BR><BR>The 25 chapters are organized into four sections: Part I û Theory and Methods; Part II û Aging and Social Structure; Part III û Social Factors and Social Institutions; and Part IV û Aging and Society. There is new coverage on demography and aging; trends in longevity; disability and functional aging; global aging; racial and ethnic influences over the life course; health disparities among older adults; stratification and inequality over the life course; molecular genetics, aging, and well-being; inheritance and gift-giving; economic status of the aged in the US; employment and aging; residential environments of older people; civic engagement and aging; pension reform in Europe; politics and aging in the US; aging and social policy; and the fiscal implications of population aging.<BR><BR>Robert H. Binstock is Professor of Aging, Health, and Society at Case Western Reserve University. A former president and fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, and chair of the Gerontological Health Section of the American Public Health Association, he has served as director of a White House Task Force on Older Americans and is currently a member of the MacArthur Foundation's Research Network on an Aging Society. Dr Binstock is the author of 300 articles, book chapters, and monographs on politics and policies related to aging.<BR><BR>Linda K. George is Professor of Sociology at Duke University and Associate Director of the Duke University Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. She is a fellow and past president of the Gerontological Society of America, former chair of the Aging and Life Course Section of the American Sociological Association, and former editor of the Journal of Gerontology, Social Sciences Section. She currently is Associate Editor of Demography. Dr George is the author or editor of seven hooks and more than 250 journal articles and book chapters