Reproduction : Antiquity to the Present Day

This first history of reproduction from antiquity to the present day defines the field for the early twenty-first century. From contraception to cloning and pregnancy to populations, it revises old stories and tells new ones. Authoritative, accessible and richly illustrated, the book invites students and non-specialists to engage and explore.

From contraception to cloning and pregnancy to populations, reproduction presents urgent challenges today. This field-defining history synthesizes a vast amount of scholarship to take the long view. Spanning from antiquity to the present day, the book focuses on the Mediterranean, western Europe, North America and their empires. It combines history of science, technology and medicine with social, cultural and demographic accounts. Ranging from the most intimate experiences to planetary policy, it tells new stories and revises received ideas. An international team of scholars asks how modern ''reproduction'' - an abstract process of perpetuating living organisms - replaced the old ''generation'' - the active making of humans and beasts, plants and even minerals. Striking illustrations invite readers to explore artefacts, from an ancient Egyptian fertility figurine to the announcement of the first test-tube baby. Authoritative and accessible, Reproduction offers students and non-specialists an essential starting point and sets fresh agendas for research.