Roctogenarians: Late in Life Debuts, Comebacks, and Triumphs

by Mo Rocca, Jonathan Greenberg Narrated by Mo Rocca

Overview

From beloved CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Mo Rocca, author of New York Times bestseller Mobituaries, comes an inspiring collection of stories that celebrates the triumphs of people who made their biggest marks late in life.

Eighty has been the new sixty for about twenty years now. In fact, there have always been late-in-life achievers, those who declined to go into decline just because they were eligible for social security. Journalist, humorist, and history buff Mo Rocca and coauthor Jonathan Greenberg introduce us to the people past and present who peaked when they could have been puttering-breaking out as writers, selling out concert halls, attempting to set land-speed records-and in the case of one ninety-year tortoise, becoming a first-time father. (Take that, Al Pacino!)

In the vein of Mobituaries, Roctogenarians is a collection of entertaining and unexpected profiles of these unretired titans-some long gone (a cancer-stricken Henri Matisse, who began work on his celebrated cut-outs when he could no longer paint), some very much still living (Mel Brooks, yukking it up at close to one hundred). The amazing cast of characters also includes Mary Church Terrell, who at eighty-six helped lead sit-ins at segregated Washington, DC, lunch counters in the 1950s, and Carol Channing, who married the love of her life at eighty-two. Then there's Peter Mark Roget, who began working on his thesaurus in his twenties and completed it at seventy-three (because sometimes finding the right word takes time.)

With passion and wonder Rocca and Greenberg recount the stories of yesterday's and today's strongest finishers. Because with all due respect to the Golden Girls, some people will never be content sitting out on the lanai. (PS Actress Estelle Getty was sixty-two when she got her big break. And yes, she's in the book.)

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"This book is a hell of a ride. With Roctogenarians, Mo Rocca shows us how people breaking barriers later in life is nothing new. Take it from me, eighty is no time to take the foot off the gas." — Eighty-four-year-old race car legend Mario Andretti, Only Driver to win the Indy 500, The Daytona 500, and the Formula 1 World Championship

“Mo Rocca is a fabulous storyteller. I know firsthand how deeply appreciative he is of his subjects. And, in a time when people are so easily dismissed or ‘cancelled,’ this book celebrates the great wisdom, grace, determination, achievement, and value that comes with age. At 80 years old, I’m still rocking it. And I don’t mean in a porch chair!” — Leslie Uggams, Tony and Emmy Award-winning Star of Stage and Screen

"A fun collection of stories that give a heartening perspective on living life to the fullest..... Such is the charm of Rocca’s latest compilation, which demonstrates the importance of passion and resilience at all stages of life, even the latter years....readers of all ages and backgrounds can find inspiration in these pages." — Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

2024-04-30
A celebration of legends who never let old age get the best of them.

In the style of Mobituaries, Rocca’s 2019 encyclopedia of underappreciated greats, this book presents the stories of people who did their best work in their golden years. With assistance from Greenberg, Rocca profiles a wide range of subjects with accomplishments that are just as varied as their biographies. Among them are Harland David Sanders, who started what would become a “Kentucky-fried empire” at 66; Kenneth Felts, who virally came out of the closet at age 90; and Snowman the horse, who, at age 10, became an award-winning show jumper and was later inducted into the Show Jumping Hall of Fame. “One thing everyone in this book has in common: a belief that late life is no time to surrender,” writes Rocca. While the author covers many familiar names, such as Morgan Freeman, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Carl Reiner, his definition of extraordinary goes beyond popular recognition. Rocca dedicates chapters to war veterans of advanced age and women who experience renewed vigor in widowhood. Such is the charm of Rocca’s latest compilation, which demonstrates the importance of passion and resilience at all stages of life, even the latter years. It’s fitting that the book ends with the fictional character Ebenezer Scrooge, whose late-in-life victory was simply becoming a better person. “In fact,” writes Rocca, “you could say the whole reason Scrooge exists is to help us understand this simple, straightforward point: that it’s never too late to change.” It is because of reminders like this that readers of all ages and backgrounds can find inspiration in these pages, which also include the accomplishments of Rita Moreno, Frank McCourt, Henri Matisse, Brian May, and Diana Nyad.

A fun collection of stories that give a heartening perspective on living life to the fullest.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940160562940
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	06/11/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	911,921

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