Shock of Gray

A fascinating report on the astounding economic and political ramifications we face as the majority of the world’s population grows old—chosen by the National Chamber Foundation of the US Chamber of Commerce as one of the top ten books every business and government leader should read. Today’s world is rapidly aging—by the year 2030, one billion people will be sixty-five or older. For the first time in history, the number of people over age fifty will be greater than those under age seventeen. Everyone is touched by this issue—parents and children, rich and poor, retirees and workers—and now Fishman masterfully explains how our world is being altered in ways no one ever expected. What happens when too few young people must support older people? How do shrinking families cope with aging loved ones? What happens when countries need millions of young workers but lack them? How are entire industries being both created and destroyed by demographic change? How do communities and countries remake themselves for ever-growing populations of older citizens? With vivid and witty reporting from American cities and around the world—Fishman reveals the astonishing effects of global aging and shows how nations, cultures, and crucial human relationships are changing in this timely, brilliant, and important read.