Unretirement: How Baby Boomers Are Changing the Way We Think About Work, Community, and the Good Life

Business writer Farrell (The New Frugality), a contributing editor for Businessweek, certainly touches the zeitgeist with his latest book. Retirement is a dirty word for many older Americans, who identify strongly with work; they abhor the idea of getting old and being put out to pasture. Since Americans live longer, there is a time gap between the workplace and the grave. Mass retirement is a relatively new phenomenon, with the forever-young baby boomers now reaching the age of 65 and older. Relentlessly upbeat, Farrell stresses the wisdom and insights of age in the workplace. You won’t hear much about infirmity or dementia. Farrell urges senior “pushback” instead; a weak chapter on fighting old-age stereotypes only reinforces the book’s fragile propositions. Farrell offers sound financial advice and tips on how to navigate change, though his giddy macro-theme of “unretirement” and his would-be unretirement movement—starting new careers or entrepreneurial ventures, volunteering—seem closer to fantasy than not. However, for older workers at a loss for ideas and eager to postpone the inevitable, Farrell’s how-to-cope book will provide a comforting road map and set of possibilities. Agent: Joelle Delbourgo, Joelle Delbourgo Associates. (Sept.)