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The Sum of the People: How the Census Has Shaped Nations, from the Ancient World to the Modern Age
Bottom of the pile
16
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
21/100Critics
10/100Scholars
Author:
Andrew Whitby
Publisher:
Basic Books
Date:
March 31, 2020
This three-thousand-year history of the census traces the making of the modern survey and explores its political power in the age of big data and surveillance.
What The Reviewers Say
... a shockingly captivating history of the census.
... an excellent primer on the history of census-taking, achieving the rare combination of offering appealing writing for nonexperts and high-quality research for specialists. From ancient Confucian ideas about governance to the contested identities of the West Bank inhabitants, Mr. Whitby traces a fascinating story of why and how governments have counted their people. But perhaps the most remarkable parts of his book are its two chapters on population registries and administration records. Far from being a staid history of accountancy, the story covers the French resistance, precision airstrikes and Kristallnacht.
... timely and eye-opening.
... timely yet somewhat ponderous.
