Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande, 282 pages.

Gawande, a surgeon, staff writer for The New Yorker, and author of  2002's Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science, and two other books, looks at how we as Americans look at the care of the elderly, and how the end of life has changed for the worse, even as it comes later for most of us than it did for our forebears.
Gawande compares our twentieth century idea of nursing homes and intrusive assisted-care to more recent innovations in care provided in a setting that allows the patient more control over their own lives.
 A thoughtful, intelligent look at an issue that most of us will face ourselves or for our family members. Gawande is an excellent writer.
The excellent downloadable audio is about 9 hours long and is read by Robert Petkoff.
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Downloadable Audio.