Engagingly written, this study describes the expectations and experience of British retirees who migrated to Spain and formed retirement communities there. Oliver (a social anthropologist in the UK) conducted extensive interviews over a period from 1998-2005, the results and analysis of which are presented here. Among the issues addressed are the expectations of the British for what constitutes retirement, their concept of Spain and Spaniards, and attitudes towards time and the life course. The way different retirees addressed their new lives in Spain, their changing expectations and lifestyles, their conclusions about the reality of retirement, and their concepts of cultural differences on issues of the family and retirement are traced through the interviews and Oliver's reflections on the current social science literature on ageing. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
