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The definitive investigation into why – across continents, classes, cultures and religions – we’re having fewer children, by an award-winning journalist

‘Wise, compassionate and non-judgmental’ EMILY MAITLIS
‘An entertaining and meaningful read’ CLAUDIA GOLDIN

In Britain, one in five couples have no children, and almost half of all families have only one. The populations of China, Japan, Russia and Italy are shrinking. Pronatalists cry that feminism has killed the family. Governments throw money at childcare. Would-be grandparents wring their hands at the apparent selfishness of the young. But the conversation is in the wrong place.

Camilla Cavendish offers a startling blend of data and stories to uncover what is really driving the baby bust, meeting people with a diverse range of experiences, including millennial women going it alone, men who’ve missed out and communities quietly bucking the trend. Rather than the standard economic explanations, her interviews point to a myriad of cultural influences: from a dating recession to a loss of faith in the future; from the pressures of modern parenting to infertility struggles; from the atomisation of society to a deeply human instinct to copy one another that’s amplified by the smartphone.

By examining the profound implications of a world in which fewer children are born, Generation Maybe argues for a future in which we respect the happily childfree while genuinely empowering those who long for children. Incisive, frank, eye-opening and humane, this book is for anyone who cares about the world we may – or may not – choose to make for the next generation.

Publisher Review

An entertaining and meaningful read — Claudia Goldin Essential reading for anyone curious enough to ask where we are heading as a human race – and that’s all of us. Packed full of mind-blowing facts that you will be quoting to friends, this is a wise, compassionate and non-judgmental story of our times, told with empathy and real understanding — Emily Maitlis With her characteristic elegance and insight, Camilla Cavendish has written the definitive account of one of the great challenges facing too many nations: the postponement of parenthood and the collapse in the average birth rate. Generation Maybe is vital reading for anyone worried about whether we can avoid a dire future of gerontocratic stagnation — Robert Peston