The issues surrounding population and development are extremely complex, and often poorly understood by non-specialists, for whom there is little accessible yet informative literature available. In contrast, the technical literature is generally incomprehensible to the lay reader. This selection of essays, from the 1960s to the present, provides all the information necessary for those seeking the middle ground between technical data and the literature for the beginner. It pulls together the seminal contrubutions to all the aspects of the debate, from a wide variety of authors including Kingsley Davis, Herman Daly, Gary Becker, Ester Boserup, and Amartya Sen. Five parts cover: the dynamics of transition; individuals and families; societies and states; resources and environment; and futures.