Pat Thane. Old Age in English History: Past Experiences, Present Issues. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000. 536 pp. £25.00 ISBN 0-19-820382-9.

John Macnicol. The Politics of Retirement in Britain, 1878-1948. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998. 425 pp, £47.50, ISBN 0-52162273- 5.

Research on the history of old age has been an important area of scholarship in gerontology over the past two decades. From the impetus provided by Laslett's work in the 1960s and 1970s, historical research had opened out by the 1980s into what Stearns and Van Tassel viewed as a ‘promising and provocative subfield of social history’ (1986: ix).

In Indonesia, as in most other societies, intergenerational relationships are considered most important for elder care. Children are expected to take care of their elderly parents. However, processes of social change such as industrialisation, urbanisation and migration can have a negative impact on care for elderly people, particularly in rural areas. This paper addresses the issue of the living and care arrangements of older people and possible changes therein. A number of hypotheses and research questions pertaining to this issue are discussed. An Elderly Household Survey was carried out among people aged 55 years and older in two different villages in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. The data concern the living and care arrangements according to the respondent’s sex, age and village. The principle finding is that most older people still live with at least one child or with other kin, or have at least one child living in the same village. Hence, they still have a potential care provider in their immediate vicinity. The situation, however, especially of women aged over 75 years, seems to be problematic.