In a recent paper comparing the historical traditions and national characteristics of Canada and the United States, the sociologist Seymour Martin Lipset writes, "There is much to be gained, both in empirical and analytic terms, from a systematic comparative study of Canada and the United States. They have many of the same ecological and demographic conditions, approximately the same level of economic development, and similar rates of upward and downward social mobility. And alongside the obvious distinctiveness of francopbone Quebec, anglophone Canadians and Americans have much in common in cultural terms as well. Yet, although overall these two people probably resemble each other more than any other two nations on earth, there are consistent patterns of difference between them. To discover and analyze the factors which create and perpetuate such differences among nations is one of the more intriguing and difficult tasks in comparative study " (1986:114). For crosscultural gerontologists who follow Lipset's lead, Canada and the United States are ideal countries in which to identify and explain differences in the development and implementation of social policies and the participation of their respective elderly citizens.
As Eloise Rathbone-McCuan and Betty Havens assert, to date there has been almost no comparative gerontological research on Canada and the United States, 1 although of late differences between the health care systems have received a good deal of attention (cf. Kane and Kane 1985). "To encourage and facilitate cross-national gerontological activities" (p. 286), the editors commissioned authors to write papers about eight "selected topics that provided vital points of comparison between the two countries" (p. 3). Only for the topic of demography, however, are data about both countries included in one chapter. For the other seven topics, two authors -one from Canada, one from the United States -were asked (apparently using the same outline) to write chapters independently. In this lies the weakness of the volume. To make meaningful