“Well-written and important. . . . The book discusses the impact of the green revolution, massive migration, the Chinese one-child family programme, declining birth rates in the developing world, the rise of death rates in Russia, and more. Even those of us who have been in the population business for half a century can learn from its coverage of controversial topics. We hope [The Coming Population Crash] will convince many decision-makers, especially in the U.S., that they ignore population issues at their peril.”—Paul and Anne Ehrlich, New Scientist
“[Pearce] weaves the views of many of the world’s top demographers together with first-hand reporting from the slums of Mumbai and ghost towns of east Germany to bring to life what could easily have turned into a drab bit of statistical analysis. It doesn’t.”—Danny Fortson, Sunday Times (London)
“[A] fascinating analysis of how global population trends have shaped, and been shaped by, political and cultural shifts . . . Highly readable and marked by first-class reportage.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Fascinating [and] optimistic.” —Jon Stewart, The Daily Show
Preface
Introduction
Part One Malthusian Nightmares
1 A Dark and Terrible Genius
2 The Road to Skibbereen
3 Saving the White Man
Part Two Rise of the Population Controllers
4 An Ornithologist Speaks
5 The Contraceptive Cavalry
6 Three Wise Men
7 Six Dollars a Snip
8 Green Revolution
9 One Child
Part Three Implosion
10 Small Towns in Germany
11 Winter in Europe
12 Russian Roulette
Part Four The Reproductive Revolution
13 Sisters
14 Sex and the City
15 Singapore Sling
16 Missing Girls
17 Where Men Still Rule
Part Five Migrants
18 Waving or Drowning?
19 Migrant Myths
20 Footloose in Asia
21 God’s Crucible
Part Six Reaching The Limits
22 The Tigers and the Bulge
23 Footprints on a Finite Planet
24 Feeding the World
25 Slumdogs Arise
Part Seven Older, Wiser, Greener
26 The Age of the Old
27 Silver Lining
28 Peak Population and Beyond
Notes on Sources
Index
