Rating: 
Summary: "Don't Sweat The...." [revisited]
Review: The premisis behind this book is that nothing in life is really important enough to lose sleep over, particularly after age 50. In my view, however, being passionate about life and pursuing dreams should never be taken lightly because they ARE important. If none of us believed this, we'd never get out of bed. When you're an active participant in life, people ARE thinking about you. This is not to say that the world revolves around YOU, but the world continues to be impacted by those who choose to make a difference. This "don't sweat the small stuff" mentality has some validity, but cruise control isn't the way to achieve greatness, unless of course you happen to be the author of this book who has managed to get out of bed, turn a profit, show up on national talk shows, and yes, take a passionte stand about aging. And guess what? People are talking about him. This book [or, list of 58 rules] is better suited for people who have tremendous difficulty handling stress [regardless of age] and/or for those who are abnormally burdened by taking on more than they can possibly control.
Rating: 
Summary: Rules For Aging
Review: This book is very funny and full of wisdom about aging. It is a great book to take on a flight as it is a quick read. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Rules For Aging
Review: This book is very funny and full of wisdom about aging. It is a great book to take on a flight as it is a quick read. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy it You'll Like It
Review: This book jumped out at me because 1) It sounded funny, 2) I believe I had read something by Roger Rosenblatt before and liked it, 3) It's short, and 4) There's a comical recommendation by Jim Lehrer of all people on the back.I was very satisfied. It probably didn't take me more than a couple of hours in total to read, but I literally laughed out loud a number of times, and grinned throughout. His introduction is "This little guide is intended for people who wish to age successfully, or at all....... What follows then, is mainly a list of "don't"s and "not"s, not unlike the Ten Commandments, but without the moral base." He has 58 short 1-3 page chapters with titles like "If something is boring you, it is probably you," "The unexamined life lasts longer," "Just because the person who criticizes you is an idiot doesn't make him wrong," and "Live in the past, but don't remember too much." After you're done this is a good book to have around to read to friends, or to pick up when you realize you are taking things too seriously and want to laugh at life. Excerpt: "A long happy life last five minutes. One would think that this rule would go without stating, but many people actually believe that a long life of uninterrupted happiness is a real possibility. And they act on this belief! They change families, careers, the structure of their faces, countries, everything, for no more substantial reason than they recall five minutes of uninterrupted happiness in the past, and now they wish to re-create the moment in perpetuity. They even convince themselves that the five-minute period they recall was really five years and giddily substitute the exception (bliss) for the rule (confusion, doubt, misery, fear, confusion, and confusion). Happiness is wonderful, but if you have had more than five consecutive minutes of it, it means you weren't thinking."
Rating:
Summary: Fun Book, with Plenty of Wisdom
Review: This is a really fun book, with lots of wisdom, much of it humorous. Despite the title, it really is a book for all ages as I am only 12, and can still apply many of Rosenblatt's rules. Rosenblatt takes his rules seriously, but doesn't take himself too seriously. Ideal for a X-Mas Stocking Stuffer -- I've already bought copies for both of my parents. Really easy read!
Rating:
Summary: WISE AND REALISTIC.
Review: This small book is really good. I was about to write "Great!" and then remembered Rosenblatt's opinion about this exclamation... Anyway, I really mean it: the book is wise, funny, down-to-earth. One reader wrote that he found it cynical; if you read Machiavelli, you will find it cynical too but this is what happens when someone says the naked truth. And to live a happy, long life, it is better to know the truth and to know when to tell it. Rosenblatt tells it, and masterfully. A book to keep close and reread from time to time. My favorite: "A swine is not a swan"...
Rating:
Summary: E-mail to the world
Review: When I finished reading *Rules for Aging*, my first impulse was to e-mail everyone I know (most of whom are post-47, and the rest of whom could benefit from 47+ wisdom) and recommend the book. It's well written: the author uses language well, in addition to getting all the technical minutiae correct. It's humorous, almost cynical, in tone. Yet there is a *lot* of truth and valuable insight here. I particularly like Rule #1:"No one is thinking about you." Would I had realized that forty years ago!
Rating:
Summary: E-mail to the world
Review: When I finished reading *Rules for Aging*, my first impulse was to e-mail everyone I know (most of whom are post-47, and the rest of whom could benefit from 47+ wisdom) and recommend the book. It's well written: the author uses language well, in addition to getting all the technical minutiae correct. It's humorous, almost cynical, in tone. Yet there is a *lot* of truth and valuable insight here. I particularly like Rule #1:"No one is thinking about you." Would I had realized that forty years ago!
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