Why Women Live Longer? -- New Book

[Leonid Gavrilov]

Greetings,

This is to announce a new book on Female Longevity (Evolutionary Perspectives):

Grandmotherhood
The Evolutionary Significance of the Second Half of Female Life
Edited By Eckart Voland, Athanasios Chasiotis, Wulf Schiefenhoevel
Rutgers University Press

By the year 2030, the average life expectancy of women in industrialized 
countries could reach ninety-exceeding that of men by about ten years.   At 
the present time, postmenopausal women represent more than fifteen percent 
of the world's population and this figure is likely to grow. From an 
evolutionary perspective, these demographic numbers pose some intriguing 
questions. Darwinian theory holds that a successful life is measured in 
terms of reproduction.   How is it, then, that a woman's lifespan can 
greatly exceed her childbearing and childrearing years? Is this phenomenon 
simply a byproduct of improved standards of living, or do older 
women-grandmothers in particular-play a measurable role in increasing their 
family members' biological success?   Until now, these questions have not 
been examined in a thorough and comprehensive manner.   Bringing together 
theoretical and empirical work by internationally recognized scholars in 
anthropology, psychology, ethnography, and the social sciences, 
"Grandmotherhood" explores the evolutionary purpose and possibilities of 
female post-generative life.

  Students and scholars of human evolution, anthropology, and even 
gerontology will look to this volume as a major contribution to the current 
literature in evolutionary studies.

Contributors: Jan Beise, Athanasios Chasiotis, Banu Citlak-Kisagun, Laurel 
L. Cornell, Leonid A. Gavrilov, Natalia S. Gavrilova, Andreas Grabolle, 
Robin Harwood, Kristen Hawkes, Natabar S. Hemam, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, Cheryl 
Sorenson Jamison, Paul L. Jamison, Nicholas Blurton Jones, Chris Knight, 
Donna L. Leonetti, Birgit Leyendecker, Ruth Mace, Amy M. Miller, Dilip C. 
Nath, Dawn B. Neill, Akiko Nosaka, James O'Connell, Andreas Paul, Jocelyn 
Scott Peccei, Camilla Power, Wulf Schiefenhovel, Axel Scholmerich, Rebecca 
Sear, Eckart Voland.

August 2005,  304 pages
ISBN 0-8135-3609-X,  Cloth $75.00
Order by phone: toll free (800) 446-9323
Order by email: bksales at rci.rutgers.edu
or visit http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/acatalog/__Grandmotherhood_2254.html

Advance book pre-orders are accepted at:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/081353609X


-------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Leonid A. Gavrilov, Center on Aging
NORC/University of Chicago
1155 East 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637-2745
USA
Fax: (773) 256-6313, Phone: (773) 256-6359
Website: http://longevity-science.org/
Blog: http://longevity.scienceboard.net/
Resumes: http://myprofile.cos.com/gavrilov
http://longevity-science.org/CV-gavrilov.htm


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