The Changing Population of the United States. by Conrad Taeuber; Irene B. Taeuber; The OlderPopulation of the United States. by Henry D. SheldonReview by: Charles M. GriggSocial Forces, Vol. 37, No. 4 (May, 1959), p. 376Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2574203 .

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376 SOCIAL FORCES

generalized to other countries at different periods in time.

CHARLES M. GRIGG Florida State University

THE CHANGING POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES.

By Conrad and Irene B. Taeuber. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1958. 357 pp. $7.75.

TIE OLDER POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. By Henry D. Sheldon. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1958. 223 pp. $6.00.

These two monographs are reviewed together, as they represent, we hope, the first two of a number of such publications. They follow the tradition of previ- ous census monographs in that they provide an in- tensive analysis in a particular area of interest. The task of analyzing the changing population of the United States, however, is much broader in scope than most such studies. The Taeubers recognize this in their Preface when they state that "they will present broad outlines rather than exhaustive analyses of aspects of the total picture." They have presented a well-documented picture of 160 years of demographic change.

The material in The Changing Population of the United States has been organized under four broad topics. The first, growth, includes a discussion of population growth, age and sex changes, immigrants, development of national population, internal migra- tion, urban and rural residence, and metropolitan areas. Under the heading of characteristics, the authors devote a chapter to each of the following: marital status, household and families, education, economic activity and income. Part III, entitled Natural In- crease, includes a chapter each on fertility and mor- tality. Part IV presents the conclusion in two chapters.

The book is well written and the organization and presentation of such a volume of material could be done only by someone as competent and familiar with demographic trends as are the Taeubers. However, the reception accorded this publication will in large measure depend on the reader's concept of demog- raphy. This is an excellent example of the factual area of demography. It is this emphasis on facts which gives the study its preciseness. But the data would have been more meaningful if presented within some analytical framework. This addition would have made the study more representative of contemporary demo- graphic analyses.

The Older Population of the United States has a more limited objective in that its aim is to examine the census data on age as they relate to other characteris- tics of the population. This study presents the trends for the last fifty years in our changing age structure and, where the data permit, relates these changes to such characteristics as living arrangements, employ- ment, and income of our older population.

There are nine chapters, two of which are written by Clark Tibbitts of the Department of Health, Edu- cation, and Welfare. One of his chapters serves as an introduction to the problem of the aging and also gives historical perspective to the interest and re-

search in this area. His other contribution provides a summary of the data presented by Sheldon, as well as pointing up some of the limitations of the study, in- dicating some of the areas of concern, and suggesting probable action necessary. The intervening chapters focus on the changing age structure over the past fifty years; geographic distribution of the older popu- lation; age and employment; age and occupation; marital status and family cycle, living arrangements, and age; housing; and age and income.

Although the change in age structure of the popu- lation can be carried back to 1900, many of the com- parisons of relevant characteristics are restricted to shorter periods. In a number of instances the author relies on data compiled by other government and state agencies, which are the result of specific surveys. This additional source of data adds to the presentation of the total picture of our older population.

This volume is a welcome addition to our knowledge concerning our older population, in that it provides an intensive analysis of census data, but in accomplishing its primary purpose, it points up how barren census data can be unless accompanied by studies which focus on the social and psychological aspects of the problem.

CHARLES M. GRIGG Florida State University

SELECTED STUDIES OF MIGRATION SINCE WORLD WAR II. Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the Milbank Memorial Fund. New York: Milbank Memorial Fund, 1958. 234 pp. $1.00.

The third volume of the Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the Milbank Memorial Fund reviews the state of migration research. As pointed out in the Foreword, migration has not been a subject for discussion since 1946 and since that time a num- ber of developments have taken place, both in the techniques and levels of analysis. As is customary, this volume not only presents specific papers, but also some of the discussion which took place in each of the sessions. The papers on migration are organized around three broad topics: international, domestic, and topical.

The international aspects of migration were covered by Dudley Kirk, Irene Taeuber, and Rupert B. Vance, presenting respectively papers on "Major Migration since World War II," "Continuities in Internal Mi- gration in Japan," and "Prerequisites to Immigra- tion: Elements of National Policy." Four topics were presented on the domestic aspects of migration. Three of the four were reports on research in selected areas. C. Horace Hamilton reported on "Educational Se- lectivity of Rural-Urban Migration"; Donald J. Bogue presented "Economic and Social Implications of Population Change in the Chicago Metropolitan Area"; and Everett S. Lee presented "Migration and Mental Disease: New York State." Ernest Rubin opened this session with "Immigration to the United States Under Our Current Laws and Policies, 1946- 1957." At the final session John K. Folger discussed "Models in Migration," followed by Joseph T. Spengler's paper on the "Economic Effects of Migra- tion." The final paper was a report on a project now

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