Reviews
Building on the success of previous editions, this sixth edition supplies 230 updated tables and charts. More than half the content comprises birth and mortality data, but the largest section is the health statistics chapter, which contains 93 tables. A new chapter features 11 marriage statistics tables. Combining tables in a single source enables users to cross-reference vital statistics and related data with relative ease. This indispensable reference should be a required purchase for all public and academic libraries and for many types of government and public policy agencies because the wealth of data in this one resource is challenging to locate by other means. This . . . publication closes a data gap created when the National Center for Health Statistics stopped publishing the print version of Vital Statistics of the United States in 1993. Data are from respected sources, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US Census Bureau, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many tables have over 100 lines of detailed information. Coverage is current as of 2011, and many tables contain historical data. Each of the four topical chapters begins with a one-page overview that features a visual display of an important statistic, followed by several bulleted highlights that offer narrative explanations. Notes, definitions, and source information follow each chapter. Highly recommended. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above., Building on the success of previous editions, this sixth edition supplies 230 updated tables and charts. More than half the content comprises birth and mortality data, but the largest section is the health statistics chapter, which contains 93 tables. A new chapter features 11 marriage statistics tables. Combining tables in a single source enables users to cross-reference vital statistics and related data with relative ease. This indispensable reference should be a required purchase for all public and academic libraries and for many types of government and public policy agencies because the wealth of data in this one resource is challenging to locate by other means. This . . . publication closes a data gap created when the National Center for Health Statistics stopped publishing the print version of Vital Statistics of the United States in 1993. Data are from respected sources, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US Census Bureau, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many tables have over 100 lines of detailed information. Coverage is current as of 2011, and many tables contain historical data. Each of the four topical chapters begins with a one-page overview that features a visual display of an important statistic, followed by several bulleted highlights that offer narrative explanations. Notes, definitions, and source information follow each chapter. Highly recommended. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above., It has been two years since the 5th edition of Vital Statistics of the United States was published. The 6th edition contains an additional chapter on marriage and over 225 updated tables and statistics. The data incorporated in the tables provide statistics through May 2012 (mainly health and wages related sections). Most tables throughout the book include data through 2011. . . . The book consists of four parts: Births, Mortality, Health, and Marriage. Chapter 4, new to the 6th edition, features federal parameters for marriages and divorces, rates of separation, rates of widowhood, ages at first marriage, and marital status for those 18 years and older. Reference suggestions for further research appear at the end of each part, and a comprehensive index begins on page 409. This resource is a requisite reference for school, public, community college, and academic libraries., Hattis has created a book of numbers, specifically as they relate to birth and death rates, life spans, occupational injuries, health-care expenditures, and marriage and divorce rates, among other important indicators of our collective welfare. Four major sections cover 'Births,' 'Mortality,' 'Health,' and 'Marriage,' each of which is preceded by a 'Highlights' page offering textual tidbits on noteworthy trends in a bulleted list. Good news--people are living longer, explains the text: 'Life expectancy increased for the entire population from 78.2 years in 2008 to 78.7 years in 2010 (Table 2-7).' Data is presented in upward of 225 tables, and interspersed at odd intervals with illustrations, such as pie charts and bar graphs. Each section concludes with a 'Notes and Definitions' page, citing sources of data, technical details regarding how figures were arrived at, and official definitions of terms used, such as Fertility Rate--total number of live births per 1,000 women of reproductive age (defined as women age 15 to 44 years). As one might surmise, the information presented here was originally collected by various agencies of the U.S. government such as the Centers for Disease Control and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bernan Press is a well-known and respected publisher of governmental information. VERDICT This is a core title that is ideal for ready-reference collections. It should be close at hand to answer such basic questions as, 'Has cigarette smoking increased on declined over the past 20 years?' Highly recommended for purchase by both public and academic libraries., Also available as an ebook, Vital Statistics of the United States 2014: Births, Life Expectancy, Deaths, and Selected Health Data is a compendium of over 225 updated tables, offering a thorough examination of births, mortality, health, marriage, and divorce in America. Nearly the entire reference volume is devoted to tables of information compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics and other government agencies. An index rounds out this straightforward reference and resource, especially recommended for professional and university library statistics shelves.
