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Triumphs of Experience: The Men of the Harvard Grant Study
At a time when many people around the world are living into their tenth decade, the longest longitudinal study of human development ever undertaken offers some welcome news for the new old age: our lives continue to evolve in our later years, and often become more fulfilling than before.
Begun in 1938, the Grant Study of Adult Development charted the physical and emotional...more
Begun in 1938, the Grant Study of Adult Development charted the physical and emotional...more
Hardcover, 457 pages
Published
October 30th 2012
by Belknap Press
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Apr 02, 2013
Joy H.
marked it as keep-in-mind
Added 4/2/13.
Found while surfing the Web. Published in 2012.
AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
==================================
"At a time when many people around the world are living into their tenth decade, the longest longitudinal study of human development ever undertaken offers some welcome news for the new old age: our lives continue to evolve in our later years, and often become more fulfilling than before.
Begun in 1938, the Grant Study of Adult Development charted the physical and emotional health of o...more
Found while surfing the Web. Published in 2012.
AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
==================================
"At a time when many people around the world are living into their tenth decade, the longest longitudinal study of human development ever undertaken offers some welcome news for the new old age: our lives continue to evolve in our later years, and often become more fulfilling than before.
Begun in 1938, the Grant Study of Adult Development charted the physical and emotional health of o...more
Vaillant took the helm of the longest-running longitudinal study in American social science when he was a young researcher and the study had already been going for 30 years. Beginning in 1937, the study, funded by a retail magnate to identify key traits in management prospects (with later interest from the Army and tobacco companies), selected 268 Harvard sophomores to track, assuming that they were ideal social and academic paragons, easy to track for the study and likely to give the best of Am...more
Triumphs of Experience, like its predecessor Aging Well, is based on the author's lengthy experience administering and analyzing the results of the Grant Study of some 268 Harvard students/graduates. The study, commenced in 1938 and continues today even as the number of survivors decreases. Dr. Vaillant knows his territory, and uses his knowledge to draw certain conclusions about aging and to refute other commonly-held beliefs on the same subject. There are numerous tables and correlations prov...more
This is such an important work. One of the only longitudinal studies of its kind, this follows a cohort of Harvard men from the ages of 19 to over 90 in a study that spans over 75 years. It is enlightening in so many ways and the style of the author (and study researcher) George Vaillant is so engaging to read. He is about 15 years younger than the study subjects and as they grew and matured, so did he. He came to his own realizations about what adult development means in very concrete terms, an...more
Loving this book. Fascinating, fascinating ...
I was drawn to this book in particular because of the learnings on male development as outlined by Vaillant. But, aside from that, there seems to be a societal attitude that men are privileged and hence require research on their physical well-being but not so much on their long-term emotional well-being. However, increasingly, from many directions, the conclusion that physical well-being, the ability to thrive into old age physically cannot be divorc...more
I was drawn to this book in particular because of the learnings on male development as outlined by Vaillant. But, aside from that, there seems to be a societal attitude that men are privileged and hence require research on their physical well-being but not so much on their long-term emotional well-being. However, increasingly, from many directions, the conclusion that physical well-being, the ability to thrive into old age physically cannot be divorc...more
What does it take to be happy if you were a Harvard man in the 1920s?
Love, apparently.
The case studies are fascination, and Vaillant introduces terminology in an illuminating way. (What's a defense mechanism? Oh, ok, now I know) But on the other hand, he gives little countenance to alternative theories and tends to repeat himself: All you need is love. Alcoholism is bad. Lonely childhoods are terrible.
Overall, a quick and worthwhile read. At the very least, it provides motivation to ponder tha...more
Love, apparently.
The case studies are fascination, and Vaillant introduces terminology in an illuminating way. (What's a defense mechanism? Oh, ok, now I know) But on the other hand, he gives little countenance to alternative theories and tends to repeat himself: All you need is love. Alcoholism is bad. Lonely childhoods are terrible.
Overall, a quick and worthwhile read. At the very least, it provides motivation to ponder tha...more
Interesting insight into adult development. Some parts were excessively repetitive (okay, we understand why you are doing the research), yet overall, it painted a comprehensive picture of how individuals can continue to change over the lifespan. I enjoy the sections about the participants and wished there was more of this in the book. Also, there was a good summary of defense mechanisms which I felt were more accurate than Freud's definitions.
Fascinating retrospective on a unique study that tracked about 300 men from college sophomores (around age 20) over the next seven decades (roughly age 90 or death). Wealth of insight of what leads to an enjoyable, successful life (or the opposite).
I love the topic, but am having a hard time with the writing. The author inserts himself throughout, contrasting the study participants to himself. I am, frankly, less interested in him and find those parts tiresome. He also frequently references subjects and topics that will be discussed in later chapters, which is frustrating. I have to wade through the writing and structure in order to get to this beautiful study.
So...my fascination with this topic continued, as did my frustration with the wr...more
So...my fascination with this topic continued, as did my frustration with the wr...more
This is a fantastic book, but it really has a target audience. If you are a successful, college, male graduate who has choices about what you do and how you live, this book as interesting insight. What decisions that people made at different times in their life ended up being most important.
If you have that opportunity financially, educationally and personally, read this book. If you're not in that position, this book's probably not so interesting.
If you have that opportunity financially, educationally and personally, read this book. If you're not in that position, this book's probably not so interesting.
the essence of the book is good and interesting, but its scope just doesn't interest me. meh.
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Probably best appreciated by readers in their sixth decade.
It turns out that I was not as interested in the topic of a longevity study as I thought I might be. Well researched and I think well written, I found fewer insights into being human than I thought I might. I thought the chapter on alcoholism and his references to the effects of alcoholism on the lives of the men in the study were the most interesting and worth reading.
Dec 06, 2012
Ken
marked it as wish-list
Added this to my wish list. Read sample on Kindle and seems fascinating. Maybe that has something to do with my age!!!!!!!!!
May 21, 2013
Playlaugh
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May 19, 2013
Tasleen
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May 18, 2013
Mallie
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May 14, 2013
Tullycarmelgmail.com Tully
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May 10, 2013
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May 08, 2013
Aaron Bernstein
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May 08, 2013
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May 04, 2013
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