
Title : Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing and Dying
Author : Ram Dass
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A gentle, clear perspective on living all of your life.
Ram Dass has aged, and while thinking about aging, had a massive stroke from which he has recovered his speech. The words are more thoughtful now, clearer. There is an economy which has lead to clarity. Reading this work helps one to see what to hold onto and what to release. There can be joy in where you are, though it is clearly not where you were, once, nor where you thought you would be. This is a gift. In each chapter he reminds us, in a gentle, loving way, to love ourselves. Knowing that he has come back from the stroke, that his body is not going to stop relying on the wheelchair, that there was fear and pain in his experience, all this makes his words ring true. Give yourself this gift. And give it to others.

Title : Life Begins at Fifty: A Handbook for Creative Retirement Planning
Author : Leonard J. Hansen
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : The most down-to-earth, practical handbook I have ever found
There are a lot of books on "retirement" out there. There are very few like this one. I was delighted with the way it laid out every aspect of these special years of one's life. Unlike so many other texts I found on the booksellers's shelves, this one--at least to me, someone who was fast approaching fifty at the time--was downright practical. I wasn't interested in all the academic mumbo jumbo a lot of the other books contained. I just wanted a down-to-earth, practical handbook that would guide me through this potential minefield of bureaucratic and oftentimes nonsense that comes with government activity. It was obvious to me at first reading, that here was a person who was writing from his own experience, combined with an authoritative background in this very specialized field. I'm sure glad I found it!

Title : The Old Fool's Retirement Guide
Author : Rob Davies
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Disappointing book from an excellent stable
The 'Motley Fool' series is a really excellent one. For the first time reader of their works this book will provide something, indeed much, of interest. However, compared to their other books (and I have read them all) this is a disappointment. There is little which is new in this book and the retirement sections of, for example, the Motley Fool UK Investment guide, are actually more informative. The authors of Motley Fool really must decide on a standard version of thier investment philosophy and develop this, rather than simply repeat it in several differnet ways.
The book really cant make up its mind whether it is for those saving for old age, or already in it and trying to decide how best to take their income. It tries to do both and falls short on both counts, but particularly the latter. There is little or no discussion of many things -such as bonds or zeros - if only to dismiss them. These are (albeit briefly) explored in the Motley Fool UK Investment Guide - where the section on 'Hermiones old age' was very informative. If ths present book could have used this as a starting point we could have learned much more.
Likewise, there is little consideration of those already in their forties but with little or no investment. The book all to often assumes you are in the early stages of a career or at the end of it.
Buy this book if you are a first timer to the Motley Fool - otherwise stick with the UK Investment Guide and wait for the second edition of Old Age.......

Title : The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica: A Guide to Inexpensive Living, Making Money and Finding Love in a Peaceful Tropical Paradise
Author : Christopher Howard
Rating : 1 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Great book--if you lack common sense
This book is great if are planning on traveling to Costa Rica as a tourist for a short amount of time; however, it really does not emcompass the complexity of moving or investing in a foreign country. Don't be fooled--this book lacks substinative information on starting a business in Costa Rica, other than the overarching message that "Not everything in the States will work in Costa Rica." Oh, really? My other favorite section was "How to Find a Nice Girl." After "interviewing hundreds of quality Costa Rican women" the author managed to whittle through the unrespectable, poor, uneducated women who were only after him for his money and find a nice girl. I guess the real shame is that he wasn't able to complete this process through a mail-order catalog.

Title : "Which?" Guide to Pensions: How to Maximise Your Retirement Income ("Which?" Consumer Guides)
Author : Jonquil Lowe
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A good, all-round, general introduction.
You can't normally go wrong with a Which? guide and this one is no exception. I have recently set up my own business and needed to learn all about company pension schemes and legislation.
This guide was an excellent starting point, covering all the major options available to me and clearing up a lot of the jargon. It even contains sections on maximising the performance of your pension.
This is the 1999 edition, but still contains reasonably current advice on Stakeholder pension plans. Considering the often tiresome nature of the subject matter, this is all highly informative stuff.