Friendships Through the Life Course: Oral Biographies in Old Age, by Sarah H. Matthews.

S. H. Matthews, Friendships Through the Life Course: Oral Biographies in Old Age. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1986. 176 pp. $24.50 hardcover, $12.50 softcover. This book is an important contribution to a growing area of inquiry-the sociology of friendship. Like many other authors in this area, Sara Matthews is a gerontologist as well as a sociologist. She is currently Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Gerontological Studies Program at Case Western Reserve University. Researchers from both fields will find this book interesting. Teachers will find it sufficiently theoretically challenging to use in graduate-level seminars and simply enough written to assign to undergraduates