New in paperback. Hardcover was published in 2012. An essential guide to this major contemporary issue, Consanguinity in Context is a uniquely comprehensive account of intra-familial marriage. Detailed information on past and present religious, social and legal practices and prohibitions is presented as a backdrop to the preferences and beliefs of the 1100+ million people in consanguineous unions. Chapters on population genetics, and the role of consanguinity in reproductive behavior and genetic variation, set the scene for critical analyses of the influence of consanguinity on health in the early years of life.