Encyclopedia of Birth Control

Birth control has a long and colorful history. Since the beginning of time, humans have sought a way to enjoy their sexuality while avoiding pregnancy. This encyclopedia written by a medical historian specializing in the history of sex provides a fairly detailed overview of a fascinating subject. The 130 alphabetical entries cover the historical and sociological aspects of birth control as well as the key figures in the birth control movements in the U.S and Great Britain.

The articles range in length from 1 paragraph to 10 pages. They cover a wide range of topics: Abortion; Comstock, Anthony and Comstockery; Demography and population control in early modern Europe; Herbal contraceptives and abortifacients; and Witchcraft, contraception and abortion. There are also entries about countries (France and birth control) and biographies of pioneers in the birth control movement: George Drysdale, Emma Goldman, Margaret Sanger. Readers may wonder why Gregory Pincus, inventor of the birth control pill, has an entry while Carl Djerassi, whose research helped form the basis for Pincus' work, and John Rock, the physician involved in early tests of the pill, do not. The articles have references at the end, and many contain illustrations. There are see also references but no see references. Users looking for information about "the Pill" will have to search for the article Oral contraceptives. The index does not solve this problem, because pill is not an index entry.



Two appendixes provide further information. Appendix 1 is a "World Survey of Birth Control Practices," with country-by-country statistics from the International Planned Parenthood Federation Web site. Most statistics are from 1998. Appendix 2 is a list of print and nonprint resources.



Although the author may exaggerate when he calls this the "most comprehensive historical survey of birth control, contraception, and abortion available," he does present information on relatively obscure topics, such as African slaves in the United States and birth control and Self-help literature in the nineteenth century.



349 pages

Publisher: ABC-Clio Inc (June 1, 2001)

Language: English