My First Hundred Years: conversations with our oldest citizens

The Story

One likes to stay up until 2a.m. faceting stones at his workbench. Another swims regularly and has broken world records in his class. One works a forty-hour week, proofreading at a major newspaper. Others have less physical vigor, but still brim with extraordinary stories of a time when America was young. The twenty-one centenarians in these remarkable interviews have survived storms and epidemics, ridden in the first automobiles, raised families, served in wars, and fought for peace. Some have rubbed shoulders with fame, others have past most of their years in hard work and the quiet satisfaction of family. They all have something to teach us - about courage, forgotten courtesies, and old-fashioned endurance. Their humor, their dignity and their delight in life offer us a new perspective on aging- an their stories are good for the soul.