This is much more than a textbook in formal demography. It examines the meaning of demographic measures and models, making systematic linkages between individual behavior and population regularities, and situates the field of demography with respect to other disciplines. This is a highly stimulating volume.—Michel Guillot, University of Wisconsin-Madison"The Nature of Demography is a delight for new students and experienced researchers alike. It is briskly original, historically grounded, and conceptually reflective. It brings out the liveliness of population analysis."—Kenneth Wachter, University of California, Berkeley"This book is a comprehensive statement on the field of demography today and provides exemplars of what the discipline has accomplished to date. Filled with novel presentations of classical methods and new insights, it includes much that demographers will find useful."—Patrick Heuveline, University of Chicago"Original, iconoclastic, and at times even philosophical, The Nature of Demography is full of insights on the origins and importance of demographic models. Le Bras's appealing book also succeeds in enlarging the field of formal demography by including sections on migration, marriage, and economics."—Joshua R. Goldstein, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research