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What to Expect When No One's Expecting

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What to Expect When No One's Expecting: America's Coming Demographic Disaster
First edition
AuthorJonathan V. Last
GenreNon-fiction
Published2013
PublisherEncounter Books
ISBN978-1594037313

What to Expect When No One's Expecting: America's Coming Demographic Disaster is a book by the Weekly Standard columnist Jonathan V. Last arguing that there had been fewer people born than previously recorded around the world and why this could change society in the future. The book was initially released during February 2013 as a hardcover, with paperback release following in June 2014.[1]

Reception

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Nick Gillespie, editor of Reason magazine, reviewed the book on Bookforum, saying that he was convinced by Last's argument that birthrates were declining and there was not much that could be done about it, but found Last's account of the negative consequences exaggerated.[2][3]

David Desrosiers reviewed the book favorably for Washington Times, writing that Last has argued that declining birthrates are largely a consequence of the changes set in motion by the Enlightenment rather than of any specific government policies, though policies by US liberals may have sped up the decline.[4] Stanley Kurtz and Bradford Wilcox wrote separate reviews of the book for National Review.[5]

William McGurn, editor of the New York Post, reviewed the book favorably for the Wall Street Journal, but was critical of Last for having 'too much confidence' in his pessimistic scenarios. McGurn concluded: "In theory, it's all certainly possible. But as Mr. Last reminds us, we do well to be modest about our predictions. Because the one thing the math tells us is this: We've never been here before."[6]

Additional reviews of What to Expect include Walter Russell Mead's for Foreign Affairs.[7] as well as Joel E. Cohen's for The New York Review of Books.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Last, Jonathan. What to Expect When No One's Expecting: America's Coming Demographic Disaster. Encounter Books. ISBN 978-1594037313.
  2. ^ Gillespie, Nick (April–May 2013). "Let It Breed: A conservative author finds economic peril in population decline". Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  3. ^ Gillespie, Nick (March 28, 2013). "Nick Gillespie on What to Expect When No One's Expecting: America's Coming Demographic Disaster". Reason Magazine (Hit and Run blog). Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  4. ^ DesRosiers, David (March 4, 2013). "BOOK REVIEW: 'What to Expect When No One's Expecting'". Washington Times. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  5. ^ Kurtz, Stanley (February 5, 2013). "Jonathan Last's What to Expect When No One's Expecting". Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  6. ^ McGurn, William (February 20, 2013). "The Children Of Men: For decades we've been warned about the dangers of overpopulation. The real threat to our future, argues Jonathan V. Last, is that we are not having enough babies". Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  7. ^ Mead, Walter Russell (May–June 2013). "What to Expect When No One's Expecting: America's Coming Demographic Disaster By Jonathan V. Last". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  8. ^ The Case for More Babies April 24, 2014 issue of The New York Review of Books
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