In this anthology of readings, 28 scholars and educators consider the theoretical and practical forces that shape the concept of lifelong learning. After Ronald Gross's introduction, the first section begins its consideration of the Western tradition in adult learning with Plato's metaphor of the cave and includes Pico della Mirandola's essay on individual development, Benjamin Franklin's brief description of the founding of the experimental "Junto," and Robert McClintock's affirmation of a lifelong course of study. In Part II, Margaret Mead, Mortimer Adler, Paulo Freire, Eduard C. Lindeman, and Fred Harrington discuss lifelong learning as a contemporary imperative, underscoring the lateral transmission of knowledge, the benefits that maturity bring to learning, and American achievements in adult education. Leaders in the field of adult education, including Cyril Houle, Malcolm Knowles, Allen Tough, Carol Aslanian and Henry Brickell, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, identify types of lifelong learners, consider the education of adults, stages in adult lives, and the role of learning for adults. In Part IV, practices in the field of adult education are considered by Samuel Brightman, Frank Adams, Carl Rogers, Jerold Apps, and Patricia Cross. The book concludes with a series of articles on the future learning world by James Botkin, Mahdi Elmandjra, and Mircea Malitza; Frank Spikes; a group of adult educators convened by Basic Choices; Buckminster Fuller; and Kenneth Boulding. (AYC)