America by the Numbers: A Field Guide to the US Population

User Review: - Leftist sermonizing
I found this book very disappointing. It's too predictable in the demographics covers. It never ventures beyond the core themes in the field. Its conclusions are mundane and stereotypically leftist. The charts and graphs look pretty but, in general, are not all that functional. Some of the commentary is crackpot conspiracy grist (see page 98 where they argue that the Federal Reserve Bank policy of trying to contain inflation is an instrument of economic oppression). And, occasionally, the charts just simply distort the truth. For example, on page 200, there is a graph charting the sex, race, and education of Democrats. And, on page 202, there is a similar graph charting the sex, race, and education of Republicans. However, the scale of each of these differs: the scale of the Republican one is smaller. At a glance, it looks as though Democrats are statistically more educated than Republicans (which the numbers refute). Perhaps, I quibble over this last point, but I found the leftist bias of this book incredibly annoying. And, by the way, NO, I am not a Republican. I suppose Progressive Democrats, Green party advocates, free trade protesters and other partisan intellectual lightweights might enjoy the sermon but I would have preferred something that was more objective this.

---

User Review: - Excellent guide to population statistics in America
This book is a succint and accessible guide to population statistics and demigraphics in America. Any one interested in economics, business, public policy, political science, sociology, history, etc., should run out and get this excellent book.

Besides presenting an important topic to the general public -- population trends in the US -- the book is written and organized in a user-friendly way. The excellent pictures and diagrams presenting quantitative information would make Edward Tufte proud! Even people with limited statistics background would find this book readable.

This book is a definite must for anyone who cares about the relationship between policy and the populous in the USA.