Ideal for a first course in demography, this sociologically oriented textbook stresses the individual's role in population decision-making.

Dudley L. Poston, Jr, is Professor of Sociology and the George T. and Gladys H. Abell Endowed Professor of Liberal Arts at Texas A & M University. He holds adjunct professorships at Renmin University of China, Beijing; Fuzhou University, China; and Nanjing University, China. He previously served on the rural sociology and sociology faculties, respectively, of Cornell University, New York and the University of Texas, Austin. Professor Poston has coauthored or edited eighteen books and has authored or coauthored more than 300 journal articles and book chapters on various sociological and demographic topics.

1. An introduction to demography; 2. Theories of population; 3. The sources of demographic information; 4. Fertility; 5. The family and sexuality; 6. Contraception and birth control; 7. Mortality; 8. Internal migration; 9. International migration; 10. Age and sex composition; 11. Race and ethnic relations; 12. World population change over time; 13. Population change in the US; 14. Population distribution; 15. Population policy; 16. World population in the twenty-first century.