Fourteen steps in managing an aging work force /

Inasmuch as it suggests a sequence of logically related management activities, the title of this timely, multidisciplinary volume is somewhat misleading. Nonetheless, the 14 chapters present a reasonably well integrated overview of several topics, including demographic changes in the work force; physiological correlates of aging; health care options; and human resource management issues such as alternate work schedules, age discrimination, and mandatory retirement. A great deal of specific information is presented and, as such, it compares favorably with The Aging Employee, ed. by Stanley Yolles et al. (1984). As is common with such volumes, however, chapter quality is uneven. Moreover, readers will find that information in some chapters is no more applicable to the older worker than to any worker. Readers interested in human resource management are likely to find certain chapters especially useful (e.g., those on age discrimination, health-care options, and retirement planning). Also helpful are the annotated lists of suggested readings following each chapter. These, coupled with the diversity of topics, make the volume particularly appropriate for readers interested in interface between work and aging in the American context. Upper-division and graduate collections.-N.J. Allen, The University of Western Ontario