This important book spotlights older people's participation in rural community life and, especially, the ways in which older rural dwellers are connected to their communities and the contributions they make to rural civic society. The dominant gerontological focus on urban environments has led to the neglect of older people living in rural areas. Unfortunately, in terms of policy and practice and also with regard to research, the specific concerns of this group of older people are often overlooked. Yet, as the editors point out, key gerontological themes, such as social inclusion, support networks, financial security, social participation, availability of and access to services, and transport and mobility, are all highly pertinent to the rural context. In fact, because the median population age is higher in rural than urban areas and is increasing faster, these issues arguably deserve even closer attention in rural than urban areas.

This book derives from the major New Dynamics of Ageing research project Grey and Pleasant Land, which was an interdisciplinary investigation into older people's participation in rural civic society in the south-west of England and Wales. The project focused in particular on older people's connectivity to rural civic society and its impact on their quality of life. This ‘connectivity’ was the principal cross-cutting theme of the research, which also connected the manifold disciplines engaged in the project – from the social sciences, to the visual arts, to transport studies.

Only a complex multidisciplinary project such as this one, employing a wide variety of research methods and approaches, could produce the rich insights into rural ageing that are to be found in this book. Furthermore, and this is one of the book's great strengths, running throughout these pages is a compelling combination of theoretical insights with first-hand narratives by older rural dwellers themselves.

This book represents a state-of-the-art introduction to ageing in rural areas, which ranges from the key conceptual underpinnings to practical everyday concerns, such as mobility, leisure participation and poverty. In addition, all of these contributions to understanding rural ageing are evidenced-based. Finally, the book provides a testimony to the considerable advantages, as well as the challenges, of doing multidisciplinary ageing research. It is a major addition to this series and to the field of social gerontology.