Daniel Levitin - Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives

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First published in the United States of America by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC 2020
First published in Great Britain by Penguin Life 2020

Copyright Daniel J. Levitin, 2020

The moral right of the author has been asserted

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ISBN: 978-0-241-37941-7

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Daniel Levitins narrative ease is once again on display as he masterfully lays out the evidence that what we thought of as old age is in fact a unique developmental stage in which extraordinary contributions become possible. These years can include challenges, but they can also reach altogether new heights that neuroscientists are just beginning to see.Dr Stanley Prusiner, Nobel Laureate, Director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of California, San Francisco

As always, Levitin shows his great facility for pulling together different parts of our field and explaining them in a way that makes them accessible to all. Brenda Milner, at age 101, Fellow of the Royal Society, Order of Canada, Professor, Montreal Neurological Institute

Levitin explores a wealth of information on the complex biology of aging and presents it in an engaging and accessible manner. Writing with insight, compassion and gentle humor he shows us the positive side of the aging process and how to make the most of the future that awaits us.Drs Pamela Harzband & Jerome Groopman, Professors, Harvard Medical School, authors of Your Medical Mind

Growing old may be the only event in life that is both desired and feared. Daniel Levitin alleviates the fear with sound advice that can tilt the balance so that we have more healthy years and fewer sick ones. The brilliance of this book is that Levitin not only tells us what to do and what not to dohe gracefully and eloquently shares the science behind how we can change our minds and brains, and how even small changes can reap large benefits.Diane Halpern, former president of the American Psychological Association and professor at Claremont McKenna College

Building on the psychology of personality types and developmental neuroscience, Daniel Levitin will enthrall you with this fascinating story of how the human brain ages, as he reveals just how rewarding our later years can be. Joseph LeDoux, professor of neural science at New York University, and author of Anxious and The Deep History of Ourselves

A tour through a huge scientific literature, full of potentially life-changing nuggets, and laced with compelling personal experiences. The good news is that aging need not be dreaded but can be a time of health and creativity in the decades beyond seventyand Levitins got the science to back it up. Michael S. Gazzaniga, director of the SAGE Center at UC Santa Barbara and author of The Consciousness Instinct

Excellent. Levitins ability to combine science with personal insights, and reflections on various experiences of aging, captures the complexity of the subject, while still being easy to read.Concetta Tomaino, executive director of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function and an associate at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine

This books breadth is impressive. Excellent popular science in the service of fending off aging. Kirkus Reviews

A compelling new look at the promise and effects of neuroplasticity. Levitins at his best here, communicating difficult scientific concepts in a way that anyone can understand.Ursula Bellugi, PhD, director of the Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Levitins book is quite extraordinary, literally. I rarely, if ever, have seen such a rigorous treatment of a health subject.David B. Teplow, professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and editor of Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science

Here is a how-to book for everyones favorite alternative to deathaging. Bringing together the fields of developmental psychology and personality theory, Dr. Levitin shows us how to reach old age as the best version of ourselves: engaged, wise, and creative; emotionally resilient, cognitively flexible, and happy. This is the fountain of youth, although you dont drink it, you read it.Eric Kaplan, Emmy-winning comedy writer of The Simpsons , Late Show with David Letterman , The Big Bang Theory , and Young Sheldon

Levitins latest is an inspiring, hopeful, and useful messageexpounding on the best lessons science and art can teach us about how to expand your potential as you age.Ben Folds, recording artist and New York Times bestselling author of A Dream About Lightning Bugs

Society for too long has underestimated the value of people in their seventies, eighties, and nineties. Working in tandem with younger colleagues, the political, economic, and creative power we can contribute together could well trigger solutions to our biggest global problems. Levitin superbly defines the new longevity in a book that will change the way you think about aging. Vicente Fox, fifty-fifth president of Mexico

This evolving narrative builds as new topics are introduced in reaction to the previous topic, like chord changes in a great piece of music. Levitins not just offering a compelling narrative but guiding the readers imagination to a larger view of thingsand that feels masterful.Mike Lankford, author of Becoming Leonardo

The Changing Mind is an ambitious and much-needed call for a new truth about aging in the twenty-first century. Levitin uses what we know about brain science to make a powerful case for positively transforming how we think about aging. This is a fascinating and vital contribution to doing just that.George Vradenburg, chairman and cofounder of UsAgainst-Alzheimers

An eloquent spokesperson for our field, Levitin writes about the brain with an ease and familiarity that is captivating.the late David Hubel, Nobel Laureate for work in neuroplasticity

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