The centenarians of the Andes

By David Michael Davies

A book that examines the reputed long lifespans, 130 years or more, of people living in the remote Andean highlands. 150p. A British gerontologist looks at very old people in the Andes in Ecuador,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0214200175
• ISBN13: 9780214200175
• Release Date: January 1975
• Publisher: Barrie and Jenkins
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Curious Forgotten Book

I knew the author personally, but am estranged from him. I think he could have done so much more, but this is perhaps his best work... Still this book is an interesting curiosity. I'd say it's more for the layman than the hardcore scientist, and some of the book takes more of the form of travel writing, and unfortunately tries to generate excitement where it needn't be... The style isn't great, but the subject matter is, and one's glad Davies did write this book... I haven't come across many others like it.It concerns mainly one village, where some of the population were claimed to be 140, even 160 years old (in the 1970s). Davies claims these ages are verifiable by the baptismal records... As for that I leave you to decide for yourself... while not as accurate as census records, they do provide some backing. Davies also laments the passing of the old ways, and mentions that he considers that this may reduce the lifespans of their descendants... through pollution, a change in diet etc. Interestingly Davies mentions three factors that seem to repeat themselves in such places - high altitude, clean air and strangely enough the presence of the mineral Selenium in the soil...