Breaking the Age Barrier: Great Looks and Health at Every Age

Prefaced by a testimonial from her physician, 75-year-old Baker's antiaging rules have, she contends, made her a successful model, businesswoman, and artist and given her the face and body of a woman decades younger. After more than 20 years of modeling for Wilhelmina Models, Baker wrote a string of beauty titles, founded a still-thriving company offering antiaging products, and began exhibiting her paintings in museums and galleries. The insights and routines she relates touch on caring for skin, teeth, and hair; getting enough antiaging foods, vitamins, and minerals; controlling weight; simplifying exercise; maintaining a positive attitude; de-stressing and sleeping; achieving a satisfying sex life; creating the illusion of a perfect figure; applying makeup; and choosing professional cosmetic treatments. Throughout, Baker circles back to a nonnegotiable philosophy: beyond genes and luck, aging well is a matter of personal motivation and constant vigilance. Despite Baker's urgency, her advice is low-key, doled out in short chapters and based on tried-and-true health and beauty wisdom. Her candid revelations (she does not like diets and exercise) and realism (she states she has never had a facelift, and will not allow retouching on publicity photographs) will endear her to many readers, particularly those struggling to embrace life after 50. (Nov.)