Stephen M. Golant. Housing America's Elderly: Many Possibilities/Few Choices. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1992, pp. 354.

Abstract

This book provides a summary of the various possibilities available on the American market to house the elderly: 13 major solutions are put forth, ranging from a retirement community, to inverted mortgages to social housing, all analysed in great detail. The 11 chapters, which include the proposed housing solutions, are all divided in the same manner: presentation of the solution, general characteristics, clients reached, principal advantages and disadvantages. Unfortunately, after some time, this type of chapter construction serves to reduce your interest in reading the book. However, the author does prove that he took great pains in classifying housing solutions and in searching for pertinent documentation. This work should help anyone who is not familiar with this subject to take stock of the situation. Nevertheless, it does not offer any perspective for the future, since the author endeavours to give prominence to the main inconveniences of the proposed solutions, thus offsetting the few known advantages of the latter. In the end, you find yourself wondering what can actually be done and suggested to this clientele, since unfortunately nothing substantial has been proposed.