Behind the fertility trend is a vast cultural shift from thegeneration that fought in World War II, which married early and produced thegreat baby boom of 1945 to 1965.

One of its strangest anecdotes is about Mark Clark, an American general in the second world war, being served up the last inhabitant of the Naples aquarium, a baby manatee.

Of all the world’s major ills – such as war, hunger, and natural disasters – none can quite compare to the millions of baby girls and female fetuses killed by parents who prefer boys.