Baby Boomer Women: Secure Futures or Not? This Harvard Generations Policy Program study makes the case that baby boomer women are in trouble. Our country’s 40 million plus boomer women are in danger of not being able to afford to retire and of falling below the poverty line. This unique study offers solutions to women planning their later life financial, retirement, health care and housing futures. (The Harvard Generations Policy Program’s mission is to prepare Americans and their leaders to find solutions for aging population issues.) Go to: http://www.genpolicy.com/2006_journal/journal_lead.html.

Louis Uchitelle is the author of The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences. The author speaks about the effects of layoffs on economic and societal changes and our ability to compete in a new economy.

Free Agent Nation by Dan Pink makes the case that we are becoming a “freelance economy” made up of workers who work in many new ways – part-time, just-in-time or balancing a portfolio of contributions. If you want to freelance in your maturity, this is a good book for you. Dan’s more recent book, A Whole New Mind offers a provocative new way of thinking about a future that has already arrived.

Tom Friedman’s best-selling book The World is Flat is a must read for anyone seeking to understand the possible effects of globalization on their own career, their current employer and others in their circle of work.

Several reviewers describe Boom or Bust by Carleen MacKay and Brad Taft as the definitive career guide for mature workers and as the only book that tells baby boomers how to navigate the turbulent waters of mature careers. Another reviewer calls the book – “The Baby Boomers” version of Bolles’ What Color is My Parachute book.” Howard Stone’s book 2Young2Retire is also an excellent choice for seniors seeking new ways to work.

Workforce Crisis: How to Beat the Coming Shortage of Skills and Talent by Ken Dychtwald, Tamara Erickson and Robert Morison, offers a compelling look at demographic trends that could affect every corner of U.S. business.

The Great Bust Ahead: The Greatest Depression in American and UK History is Just Several Short Years Away. Daniel Arnold is the author of this book that, some say, should be read by the entire adult population. The events described may be the greatest story of the first quarter of the twenty-first century. A depression of epic proportions is predicted. The author's argument is that the consumer spending by 45-54 year olds drives the economy. In fact, there is a strong correlation between the number of 45-54 yr olds in the demographics and the Dow Jones. By 2011, as the number of 45-54 yr olds decline, so will the Dow Jones. (IF we stay in the workforce long enough, perhaps we can continue to invest while awaiting the emergence of the next large generation – Gen “Y” - CM)

The Coming Generational Storm: What you Need to Know about America’s Economic Future by Lawrence Kotlikoff and Scott Burns. Take a guided tour of our generational imbalance. The authors begin by introducing us to the baby boomers -- their long retirement years and "the protracted delay in their departure to the next world." Then there's the "fiscal child abuse" that will double the taxes paid by the next generation. There's also the "deficit delusion" of the under-reported national debt. And none of this, they say, will be solved by any of the popularly touted remedies: cutting taxes, technological progress, immigration, foreign investment, or the elimination of wasteful government spending. So how can the United States avoid this demographic/fiscal collision? The authors propose bold new policies, including reforms of Social Security and Medicare.

Finally, for a little fun after all this reading (thanks to Barbara Adler for this contribution), take a time out and go to the following link: http://www.frontiernet.net/~cdm/age1.html and place your birth date in the window.