World Population Policies: Their Origin, Evolution, and Impact.

The book should not, and will not, pass unnoticed, and not just among specialists in the field of population studies proper, but well beyond, not the least among those engaged in geopolitics and international relations. For whatever forces shape the future of our world, demographics will prevail. A top World Bank population expert, John May combines field experience with deep intellectual thinking, so the book ought to appeal to both scholars and practitioners. The book is much more than its title says. It is all demography minus techniques. In proceeding with this review essay, I will have to be highly selective among the wide range of topics competing for our attention.