City of Green Benches: Growing Old in a New Downtown (The Anthropology of Contemporary Issues)

"Vesperi combines the ear of a journalist, recording scores of conversations with elderly residents, with the eye of an anthropologist, trying to understand how people's self-esteem and self-perception are transformed in the process of social change."--St. Petersburg Times "It is clear that Vesperi . . . understands these old people, what motivates them and what terrifies them. And that is the heart of this book."--Orlando Sentinel

"In this significant contribution to gerontology theory, Vesperi examines the cultural construction of old age in American society and its impact on the self-concept of the aged. This groundbreaking study suggests a theoretical and methodological approach for the exploration of the meaning of age cross-culturally."--American Anthropologist

"This book is one of very few that tackle the difficult task of analyzing our culturally bound notion of old age and its consequences for older people and the programs that serve them."--Journal of Religion and Aging