On Rachel Carson and her work and on current environmental challenges. The four authors present information on various American trends: demographic, macroeconomic, and macro-technological. Descriptions, tables, and graphs trace the dynamics of population, specifically in relation to the expansion which followed the 1982-83 recession, and analyze achievements in intelligence, genetic engineering, and space travel. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

An overview of the socio-economic profile of Greece during 1960-1995.

Recent Social Trends in Russia is a collection of statistical and sociological data on trends in Russian society that have never before been assembled in a comprehensive and systematic manner.

A prominent feature of the social revolution in France has been the decline of the great national institutions -- the Republic, the Army, the church, and the schools -- which are losing their symbolic value and are no longer the targets of ideological disputes. As a result, there is a growing basic consensus among the French people. At the same time, the French have developed a new interest in managing local problems -- due to the decentralization law -- which has led to the establishment of many voluntary associations. Changes in family life following the "revolution" of 1968 have led to greater instability among couples, but at the same time have strengthened the kinship system resulting in increased life expectancy. The customs of the French have also changed. The French education system, originally based on authority and regulations, is now making increasing use of experimentation and negotiation. As a result, the attitude of the French towards authority has totally changed and the French have learned to negotiate and cooperate among themselves. All these changes can be interpreted as progressive moves toward liberty, equality, and individualism. There is little danger of social instability, since French society remains in remarkably robust health.

Italy remains an enigma for many observers. Recent Social Trends in Italy, 1960-1995, the sixth volume from the international Comparative Charting of Social Change program, provides a new and convincing schema for its comprehension. It shows that three essential institutions have structured and unified Italian society: the family, the church, and political parties. While the state remains a weak institution, it is important as a regulator of the economy and of society through the welfare state. The book, which contains a long introduction by Alberto Martinelli on the uneven modernization of Italy, shows the usefulness of analysing social change through study of a series of macro-social trends. These trends range from life-style structures to fertility, leisure, consumption, inequality, religion, and family, among others. This sixth national profile provides more arguements in favour of a hypothesis of diversification, rather than convergence, of modern societies. As Henri Mendras writes in the preface of the book, "The more we change, the more we remain ourselves: that is the conclusion of our comparative research, and the Italian study provides further ample proof of it."

The introduction summarizes and locates the major waves of change. The authors then document each trend in relation to eighteen thematic groups that include age, community, women, labour, management, stratification, social relations, the state, mobilizing institutions, social forces, ideologies, households, lifestyle, leisure, education, integration, and attitudes and values.

Contrary to mid-twentieth century predictions, ethnic pluralism has increased dramatically in North America and significantly in Europe. Neither the post 9/11 emphasis on international border security nor anti-immigration and anti-multiculturalism movements have affected the fifty year trend of increasing labour mobility and sustained levels of migration. The ethnic pluralism accompanying this powerful trend has fueled academic research and public debate. Contributors report on and develop a conceptualization of ethnic social incorporation and multiculturalism in Canada, the United States, Germany, Greece, Bulgaria and Italy. This group of countries displays a remarkable variety of both ethnic diversity and public policy responses to ethnic social incorporation over the past four decades. It includes two countries (Canada and the United States) built upon very large-scale immigration over the course of more than a century, two countries (Greece and Italy) which until recently were characterized by large-scale emigration but now are grappling with immigration, one country (Bulgaria) that was until the 1990s insulated from extensive migration and faces a demographic slump, and one (Germany) that has experimented with isolating temporary populations but is now addressing the responsibilities of permanent immigration. Multicultural Variations includes national reports describing each of the six countries under investigation and is book-ended by introductory and concluding chapters that present a new understanding of and synthesis on multiculturalism that is distinct from either enthusiastic support or ideological critiques. Contributors include Mathias Bös (Philipps-Universität Marburg; Germany), Antonio Chiesi, (Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy), Jason Edgerton (University of Manitoba, Canada), Barry Ferguson (University of Manitoba, Canada), Nikolai Genov (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany), Louis Hicks (St Mary's College of Maryland, USA), Paul Kingston (University of Virginia, USA), Laura Maratou-Alipranti (National Centre for Social Research, Athens, Greece), Lance W. Roberts (University of Manitoba, Canada), Sonia Stefanizzi (Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Italy), and Susanne von Below (Johann Wolfgang Goethe- Universität Frankfurt, Germany),

The authors, using these goals as a checklist, found that each of the seven states performs well in some areas and badly in others. They discovered that all states approached these goals in a style shaped by their own history and, in particular, by how they have been affected by the troubles of the twentieth century. Their investigations offer a new, informative way of looking at these nation states and detail the social and political conditions in each state. Contributors include Theodore Caplow, Salustiano Del Campo (Royal Academy of Political and Social Science, Madrid), Nikolai Genov (Bulgaria Academy of Sciences), Karl-Otto Hondrich (Goethe University), Simon Langlois (Université de Laval), Alberto Martinelli (University of Milan), and Henri Mendras (OFCE, Paris).

Trends in fertility decline, intergenerational relations, religion and secularization, ecological movements, employment and labour-market changes, personal authority, and social conflict are examined. This analysis shows an unmistakable convergence of social trends except in the domain of religion. But when the interconnection of these trends within each national society is examined, unexpected divergences are revealed. There are parallel trends in demography, organization of production, national institutions, social practices, and life style, and divergent trends in social inequality, social movements, and local institutions. Barriers between social classes have eroded and something that might be called multidimensional stratification has emerged, the diminution of violence in social conflicts implies an increasing volume of negotiation, and all forms of personal authority have been weakened. The transformation of the family structure is no doubt one of the most important changes in western civilization. The cross-national analyses of recent social trends help us to assess both convergence and divergence and to identify emergent singularities. Does convergence of trends mean these societies face a common destiny? With respect to trends so strong that they act as exogenous variables, the answer is yes. However, with respect to the responses those trends elicit in the context of a particular society, the answer is no. Massive convergence of trends does not mean that societies face a uniform future.