Preface.- 1: Background and Plan of Study.- 2: Data Conundrums.- 3: Ascertaining True Ages at Death Through a Matching Study.- 4: Understanding the Sources of Age Misreporting.- 5: Reconstructing the Size of the Population by Age and Sex.- 6: Mortality and Fertility Trends.- 7: Childhood Conditions that Predict Survival to Advanced Ages.- References.- Index.

The authors of this work use a novel strategy that combines record linkage and demographic/statistical analysis to produce an internally consistent and robust set of estimates of the African-American population during the period 1930-1990. They interpret the record that emerges, with special reference to longevity trends and differentials. This work is for demographers, sociologists and students of ethnic studies.