Patricia Cohen

   “In this brilliant, wide-ranging book… one persistent theme is that the very definition of middle age, or midlife, is a moving target...a story packed with surprising twists, masterfully told…Cohen’s lively prose and thoughtful insights make this a joy to read.”   —The Boston Globe

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“Very fine…lucid, straightforward and conversational… a thorough—and thoroughly fascinating—cultural history of aging.”—Chicago Tribune

“A fascinating biography of the idea of middle age…solidly researched.”—Gail Sheehy, The New York Times

“With lively writing, astute observations, and extensive research, this cultural history looks well beyond cougars and Botox.”—Oprah.com

“In Our Prime is a fascinating study of this complex stage of life, a book whose appeal is likely to extend beyond the middle-age demographic to readers approaching or looking back on that key stage of life.”—Associated Press

“Witty and engaging…this comprehensive and entertaining social history highlights the possibilities of the middle years—and shows how middle age reflects the attitudes and customs of each generation that passes through it.”—Publishers Weekly

“In Our Prime is an important book, fascinating, gorgeously researched, and extremely readable.”  Patricia Boswell, author of Jane Fonda: The Private Life of a Public Woman

 “A thoroughly engaging cultural history…”— Toronto Star

“In this extraordinary, comprehensive book about middle age Patricia Cohen provides us with a wise and unique appraisal of recent scientific research on human development during midlife, and describes how it has dealt a death blow to false myths about the midlife crisis and other stages of development. This is just one of the many stories she includes in her review of the continuing changes in ideas regarding middle age during the past 150 years.”—Orville Gilbert Brim, Jr., former director of the MacArthur Foundation Research Program on Midlife Development and former president of the Russell Sage Foundation

“With intelligence and wit, Patricia Cohen has written a wonderfully readable book that details the untold history of middle age and its surprising journey through the popular culture and the research lab. A brilliant analyst and keen observer, she connects the story of middle age to the story of America’s emergence into the modern world, bringing to life the filmmakers and admen, scientists and hucksters who have shaped our understanding and experience of the middle years.  Anyone who is, has been, or will be middle-aged will want to read this book.”—Barbara Strauch, author of The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain, and Science Editor at the New York Times

“Patricia Cohen has written the liberation anthem of middle age. She shows us that there is nothing inevitable about spending middle age in the panicked pursuit of youth; we do it because the ad men tell us to. It is a cultural fiction that middle age need be approached with dread. In this carefully researched and skillfully told history of middle age in America, Cohen shows us that our middle years can be years of prestige, autonomy and confidence — the best years of our lives.”—Tina Rosenberg, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World

“Before allowing yourself another distressing look in the mirror, I recommend Patricia Cohen’s magisterial new book on the social construction of middle age. Cohen moves seamlessly from the origins of the concept to the newest scientific findings, all the while sustaining a fascinating narrative.”—Juliet Schor, author of Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture and True Wealth: How and Why Millions of Americans Are Creating a Time-Rich, Ecologically Light, Small-Scale, High-Satisfaction Economy

“A comprehensive look at middle age through the eyes of scientists, historians, psychologists, medical doctors, marketers and many more.”—Winnipeg Free Press

“An informative and at times surprising biography of middle age…”—Glenn C. Altschuler, Oregonian

“In Our Prime is a fascinating biography of the ‘idea of middle age’ in American society…Comprehensively researched…A thoughtful inquiry.”—Tom Lavoie, Shelf Awareness