Interest in managing older workers has grown considerably in recent years, as a consequence of the ageing workforce, increased life expectancy and more assertive age discrimination legislation across Europe. Despite this interest, there have been few good academic texts on this topic that bring together the varied approaches used in its investigation. This book has chapters from a number of reputable authors in the field and takes a European perspective rather than the single country view that has so far predominated. Harper's chapter provides a useful historical overview of the issues surrounding the management of an ageing workforce and therefore a good basis for the rest of the contributions. It is clear from this chapter, however, and from Manthorpe and Chiva's introduction, that the book was written in very different economic circumstances to those prevailing by mid-2009. I would not have expected the authors to have predicted the economic downturn, but this does make some features of the book already outdated.

This book focuses on what we know about the employment of older workers in Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom (UK), and the potential for extending working life. Flynn and McNair provide a useful analysis of survey data on people's attitudes towards work and retirement, but because the survey was conducted in 2003, we have to wonder what impact the recession and the new UK age discrimination legislation will have had on these results. Taylor's analysis of the opportunities offered to older workers in Europe is particularly interesting and tackles some pertinent questions about the impact of the economy on the employment of older workers. His chapter is one of the few in the book to take a truly European perspective and to consider the impact of contextual factors such as the economy on older workers.

The book then focuses on particular industrial sectors. Platman, researching the IT sector, discusses the conflict between the aims of competitiveness and of extending working life and discusses the approaches of ‘flexicurity’ and transitional labour markets as potential solutions to these difficulties. Manthorpe and Moriarty examine older workers in social care with some particularly interesting vignettes about practice for employing older workers. Gratton examines the factors that have led to increased participation in the workforce of men aged 50 or more years, and Phillipson focuses on changing transitions to retirement. Despite the change in economic climate, these chapters' and particularly Phillipson's examination of the causes of the disadvantages faced by older workers in relation to training provide useful insights. At this point, the book moves on to discuss potential solutions to the issues that have been thoroughly (and at times a little repetitively) analysed in the first eight chapters. A cross-Europe research project that developed materials for older workers to review their work situation and identify the best way forward (Chiva and colleagues), and UK initiatives to address ageing workforce issues (Farmer and Soulsby) are considered. Neither of these two chapters includes much discussion of the effectiveness of or lessons learned from these initiatives. In the case of the Chiva et al. chapter, a discussion of country differences would have been particularly interesting.

The book closes by examining the impact of the ageing workforce on nurses and midwives, which while of interest may have been better placed earlier in the book. In fact, the book as a whole seems a little incoherent. There is no attempt to link the chapters or to draw the messages presented in this book together, other than in the brief introduction. I was left wondering about the book's purpose, especially given that few solutions are offered to the presented difficulties. That is not to say that the book is of no use: its overview is much needed. It is probably most suitable for students or academics with little existing knowledge of the topics because there is little in-depth analysis and no discussion of the practical implications or solutions that might be sought by practitioners. It is also questionable as to whether the book lives up to its title, as many of the chapters deal exclusively with the UK. The research presented throughout feels a little outdated because of the recent economic downturn and because some chapters appear to have been written before the UK legislation on age discrimination was introduced. Despite these criticisms, I recommend this book to anyone who is new to the area of the ageing workforce and who requires a sound examination of the main issues. The book does demonstrate the importance of the topic and the need for further in-depth analysis and for attention to the possible solutions to the difficulties faced by older workers and their employers.