The history of population change in 20th-century Europe has focused on demographic transition and, in particular, on how trends in fertility and mortality have led to periods of population growth followed by stagnation and even decline. Although migration is recognized as a key factor in the demographic system, demographers in general have shown less interest in the distribution of population as opposed to overall trends in the dynamics of population growth. Yet for researchers and students with a particular interest in mountain communities this focus is misplaced, as the overriding theme characterizing the demography of mountain communities in most parts of Europe during the last century is one of population decline brought about by outmigration. This dramatic demographic shift poses particular problems for these communities, as Fernando Collantes Gutiérrez describes in this book on mountain communities of Spain.

Gutiérrez's approach is to investigate the dynamics of demographic and economic change in mountain communities in Spain. The impact on Spanish society is not insignificant, with 36% of the country classified as mountainous. Yet, as Gutiérrez argues, in order to understand the causes and consequences of population change in Spain, it is far too simplistic to see this change as the inevitable outcome of industrialization and economic growth; rather, he shows that each mountain community responded differently to the economic and social challenges of the 20th century. Hence, while the broad pattern of population decline in Spain is clear, with mountain villages losing between 20% and 25% of their population from 1850 to 2000, there is considerable variation in the timing and intensity of this decline. Gutiérrez examines this variation by comparing the experiences of 4 distinct mountain regions: the north (Cantabria, Asturias, and Galicia); the Pyrenees; the interior region (mountain ranges to the north of Madrid including those in Burgos, La Rioja, and Soria); and the south (the sierras of Andalusia).

The book is based on analysis of macrosocial data, mainly demographic and economic indicators. Gutiérrez begins with an overview of population decline in the mountainous regions of Spain, and describes how this is associated with both aging and masculinization of the population. The second chapter focuses on the relationship between depopulation and economic change, in which Gutiérrez challenges the accepted view that, prior to the 1950s, Spain's mountain communities were characterized by subsistence farming, with little opportunity for market practices. In this largely theoretical chapter Gutiérrez describes how many mountain economies were far more complex than this, and argues that, rather than being self-sufficient and self-contained, many mountain communities did engage in market practices and a certain degree of diversification. Moreover, practices of temporary migration were common among many families; even before Spain's economic boom, migration was an important way in which some mountain communities responded to economic conditions. Yet, as is the consistent theme of the book, the author also describes how different mountain regimes responded to the challenges of industrialization, with the northern region leading the way in terms of diversification away from agriculture and into industry.

Chapter 3 provides a statistical analysis of how mountain economies developed from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, with particular focus on the development of agriculture and how this differs between the livestock-based system in the north and the predominantly arable system—the classic Mediterranean trilogy of cereal, livestock, and vines—in the south. Gutiérrez relates the different types of agricultural systems to climatic factors, although he does also consider, to a limited extent, the importance of sociocultural factors, including patterns of land ownership, family structure, and patterns of inheritance. The chapter ends with an overview of standards of living in mountain communities up to the mid-20th century which clearly reveals the rural penalty in the mountain communities of the south.

Chapter 4 considers how mountain economies diversified during the 20th century, comparing both the timing and the intensity of diversification. This again reveals how the south lags behind mountain regimes further north. The earlier diversification of economies in the north and the Pyrenees was facilitated by transport networks, as well as the availability of minerals and hydroelectric power, but also by an established culture of diversification. This chapter concludes with an analysis of contemporary standards of living, and of how diversification in the north and the Pyrenees is associated with a much less marked “mountain” penalty compared to the south. The final chapter provides an overview of the dynamics of population and economic change in the different mountain communities, and, in particular, of how the timing and intensity of population decline reflect changes in the structure of mountain economies, which in turn are determined by geographical and sociocultural characteristics.

The strength of the book is in its comparative approach—although this also raises the question of what lessons can be learnt from the Spanish case, if, as Gutiérrez argues, the timing and intensity of population change is determined by characteristics of mountain communities. Moreover, the analysis is quite simplistic and relies strongly on two-way analysis of different demographic and economic variables. There is no attempt to integrate different dimensions in order to unravel some of the complexities of the socioeconomic structure of these communities. Gutiérrez does not draw on any anthropological and historical research on mountain communities and family life in Spain, and his account of population decline is very strongly based on environmental explanations.

Reading the book, I was struck that conditions in the south, particularly greater poverty and a larger population of landless laborers, would have provided ideal conditions for massive outmigration, and it is interesting that nevertheless, population decline has been less dramatic there than in the more prosperous regions to the north. Yet I was not wholly convinced by Gutiérrez's explanation, which associates these facts with geographical factors and conditions. Finally, the maps are not well drawn and contribute very little to the text. For some reason the legends are descriptive, which might make them slightly harder to interpret for a non-Spanish reader. While the book will be of considerable interest for students and researchers of Spanish socioeconomic history—as the main conclusions refer to the specificity of different mountain communities in Spain—its appeal to a wider readership with an interest in mountain communities will be more muted.