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.

Authoritative, accessible and abundantly illustrated, this book presents a broad history of reproduction over the long term.

'Reproduction builds a new synthesis of how Europeans have understood the production and renewal of life. Of particular note is the complex interweaving of the contributors' collective arguments; by engaging with each other's work, the chapters form a set of discussions where new connections and contrasts can be found beyond those normally developed in studies of more limited historical and geographical scope? Triangulating the chapters with their illustrations and the free-standing object exhibits allows readers to build complex paths through the narrative of Western attitudes to birth, reproduction and population. In sum, Reproduction is a sophisticated and comprehensive work that simultaneously summarises a generation's work in the history of science and, by the very fact of its synthesis, breaks new ground. The editors are to be thanked for the scale of their ambition for this project as is the publisher for honouring that ambition by the generous production standards the book embodies. Reproduction will become a standard work of reference but should also become a core teaching text for advanced undergraduate courses in medical history, the history of population and gender studies.' Robert J. Mayhew, Journal of Historical Geography