Why do many older people rate their health as good when 'objective' evidence suggests that old age is a time of inevitable decline and disease? How do different perspectives on health inform our understanding of health in old age? *What are the policy implications for ensuring a healthy future for old age? This book addresses important questions which existing literature on health and old age has largely ignored. By juxtaposing detailed case histories and first person accounts from older people with 'official statistics' on the health of 'the elderly' it explores the myths and tries to unpick the mysteries which surround the subject of health in later life.