Review of Misa Izuhara (ed.) (2010) 'Ageing and Intergenerational Relations: Family Reciprocity from a Global Perspective'. Bristol: The Policy Press.

This book aims to explore whether new forms or patterns of family reciprocity are emerging in national or global contexts, considering also East Asian and African societies. The book is divided into two parts : the first is devoted to the discussion of some key concepts in the study of intergenerational relations ; the second presents a series of case studies aiming at shedding light on new (or persistent) patterns of intergenerational relations in different areas and social contexts. Overall the book is quite successful in providing a vivid picture of emerging topics in the study of intergenerational relations in the global perspective. However, one possible criticism relates to the fact that in spite of the book title, and with the exception of Chapter 2, the phenomenon of globalisation is not systematically considered in the contributions. The book also presents some of the usual limitations of edited books, i.e. a limited connection between the topics dealt with in the different chapters and a considerable variation in the types of approach adopted and the quality of the research presented. This said, the book has the merit of attracting scholars’ attention to the need to approach the study of intergenerational relations from the global perspective.