The Sum of the People, Andrew Whitby
The Sum of the People, Andrew Whitby
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

The Sum of the People
How the Census Has Shaped Nations, from the Ancient World to the Modern Age

Author: Andrew Whitby

Narrator: David Piggott

Unabridged: 11 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 03/31/2020

Synopsis

This fascinating 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.

In April 2020, the United States will embark on what has been called "the largest peacetime mobilization in American history": the decennial population census. It is part of a tradition of counting people that goes back at least three millennia and now spans the globe.

In The Sum of the People, data scientist Andrew Whitby traces the remarkable history of the census, from ancient China and the Roman Empire, through revolutionary America and Nazi-occupied Europe, to the steps of the Supreme Court. Marvels of democracy, instruments of exclusion, and, at worst, tools of tyranny and genocide, censuses have always profoundly shaped the societies we've built. Today, as we struggle to resist the creep of mass surveillance, the traditional census -- direct and transparent -- may offer the seeds of an alternative.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jacobus Cilliers on June 10, 2020

What a joy to read! The book is extremely well-written and insightful. Who would have known that the history of the census would be so interesting? Andew Whitby gives us a whirl-wind tour of the history of the census, starting with Biblical times when the purpose of census was extraction - taxation......more

Goodreads review by Richard on February 10, 2021

Strongly recommended by the Economist in The big ask: A lively and enlightening history of the census. It deserved that endorsement, and more. If you were paying attention to discussions about the census in the United States in 2020, you know that who is counted, and how, can matter a lot. A censu......more

Goodreads review by Lordoftaipo on April 23, 2023

It is no mean feat to elaborate on such a niche topic—the census. I do not normally take notice of it, nor does it bother me as an ad hoc family affairs. The microcosm is clear: the census is losing popularity among newer generations. Whitby is making a precarious case for its remaining. Most countr......more

Goodreads review by Katie on February 02, 2021

"To count is to have value, to matter. To be counted is to be included, and, perhaps, to be known" (pg 22). I enjoyed the book; however, after a few chapters, my eyes started to get cross-eyed and I'd forget what was discussed in the previous chapter, even as I read this throughout the span of nearl......more

Goodreads review by Alex on May 30, 2020

Ripped through this book in one week. Super interesting book about the history of the census through human history. The history of IBM is absolutely fascinating and I loved the chapter surrounding WW2. Certainly raises a lot of topics about the census that I've never thought about before.......more

Quotes

"When we hear census, we think of numbers and statistics. But Andrew Whitby shows that the history of the census is an amazingly fascinating and illuminating story, and in The Sum of the People, he tells that story eloquently and persuasively. A real page-turner!"—Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, coauthor of Big Data

"In The Sum of the People, Andrew Whitby tells a gripping tale of humanity, civilization, and power. If you never imagined that a book about the census and the statisticians who conduct it could be a page-turner, think again. At a time when the need for the census is being challenged amid a tide of online big data, this book is also a deeply thought-provoking read."—Diane Coyle, author of GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History and Bennett Professor of Public Policy, University of Cambridge

"Humans spend much effort counting themselves. Always have, always will. Why? To control, conscript, and tax; but, then, also to hold accountable the powerful people who control, conscript, and tax. Andrew Whitby, alert to this duality, instructs and entertains as he brilliantly travels across the census landscape. Literally, a tour de force."—Kenneth Prewitt, Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs, Columbia University, and former director of the US Census Bureau

"This is a wonderful book. The history of the census may not at first appear to be a particularly hot topic, but Andrew Whitby's vigorous style, fine story-telling, and detailed knowledge combine to form a riveting narrative. Who would have thought that simply counting people could be such a deeply contested issue?"—David Spiegelhalter, author of The Art of Statistics

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List