One of the most significant occurrences of the twentieth century has been the transition in many countries from tragically high death and birth rates to low rates. In the present book, leading demographers, anthropologists, sociologists, and historians examine the causes of this transition and the reasons why many other countries have not followed suit.

One of the most significant occurrences of this century has been the drastic decline in many countries of tragically high death and birth rates. In this collection, leading demographers, anthropologists, sociologists, and historians examine the causes of this transition and the reasons why many other countries have not followed suit.

This is an important book on a significant theme. ... a collection ... of a uniformly high quality. ... Among individual papers, that by Kertzer stands out, both for its interesting substantive dimension and for its argument for the role of culture in demographic explanation