What is age? When does it begin? When is one considered old? "Actually, there is no age," writes Hannelore Schlaffer, "because those who are old and happy can consider themselves young." So, are we really as old as we feel? From antiquity, which celebrated age, to today's "selfies" (second life people), "Uhus" (under-hundred-year-olds), and "mummy passes" (retirement IDs), the author explores all possible figures and places of age and discovers a whole culture that is concerned with the defense against illness and death. Nutrition science, medicine, and the fitness movement manage to transform the fear of death into a hunger for life, leading to new societal ideals and status symbols. One thing has probably not changed since antiquity: "Even in old age, there are two cultures. The way men perceive it.