Why Survive?: Being Old in America
Robert N. Butler
Why Survive? Being Old In America was written by Robert N. Butler and published by Harper & Row in 1975, it won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. The book discusses a range of problems faced by older people in American society stemming from poverty, the failures of the Social Security system, and social isolation, and argues for the necessity of comprehensive reform and developing of a strategy for dealing with an aging population.
Award History
1 wins · 1 total
| Award | Year | Result | Category / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pulitzer Prize in General NonfictionMajor | 1976 | Winner | Secondary source |
Experimental book profileGenerated by GPT-5.4 nano · may contain inaccuracies
This is an unverified interpretation of the catalog description, offered as an opt-in discovery experiment—not as bibliographic fact.
01 Central figures
None extracted with sufficient confidence.
02 Central places
None extracted with sufficient confidence.
03 Suggested argument
The book argues that comprehensive reform and a strategy for dealing with an aging population are necessary to address problems older people face from poverty, Social Security failures, and social isolation.
Model confidence 78%
04 Reading orientation
45 / 100 academicTrade / academic crossover
An estimate of intended readership and scholarly apparatus—not quality or importance.
Confidence percentages are the model's own estimates. Profile confidence: 82%.