"This book explores contemporary population issues in a historical context. It is a world economic history of demographic change with emphasis on the well-being of the population. Exploring the years since the Middle Ages, this unique book emphasizes the commonality of human experience...

The height of the French male population of the Ancien Régime is estimated, on the basis of military records, to have been about 162 cm in the 17th century. This extremely short stature implies that "the crisis of the 17th century" had an immense impact on the human organism itself. The...