Very short introductions
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The brain: a very short introduction , Very short introductions volume 144
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Literary theory: a very short introduction
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English
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"Following the discovery of the Higgs boson, Frank Close has produced this major revision to his classic and compelling introduction to the fundamental particles that make up the universe. Frank Close takes us on a journey into the atom to examine known particles such as quarks, electrons, and the ghostly neutrino, and explains the key role and significance of the Higgs boson. Along the way he provides fascinating insights into how discoveries in...
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Journalism : a very short introduction
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Autism: a very short introduction
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The history of life: a very short introduction
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English
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Against the backdrop of unprecedented concern for the future of health care, this Very Short Introduction surveys the history of medicine from classical times to the present. Focussing on the key turning points in the history of Western medicine, such as the advent of hospitals and the rise of experimental medicine, Bill Bynum offers insights into medicine's past, while at the same time engaging with contemporary issues, discoveries, and controversies.
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HIV/AIDS: a very short introduction
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Free speech: a very short introduction
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Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
2009
Language
English
Description
Beneath the surface of the apparently untutored and deceptively frank Abraham Lincoln ran private tunnels of self-taught study, a restless philosophical curiosity, and a profound grasp of the fundamentals of democracy. Now, in Lincoln: A Very Short Introduction, the award-winning Lincoln authority Allen C. Guelzo offers a penetrating look into the mind of one of our greatest presidents. If Lincoln was famous for reading aloud from joke books, Guelzo...
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OUP Oxford
Pub. Date
2009
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English
Description
Thomas Aquinas, an Italian Catholic priest in the early thirteeth century, is considered to be one of the great Christian thinkers who had, and who still has, a profound influence on Western thought. He was a controversial figure who was exposed and engaged in conflict. This Very Short Introduction looks at Aquinas in a historical context, and explores the Church and culture into which Aquinas was born. It considers Aquinas as philosopher, and looks...
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Agnosticism: a very short introduction
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Aristocracy: a very short introduction
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Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
2010
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English
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Praised as "suave, soulful, ebullient" (Tom Waits) and "a meticulous researcher, a graceful writer, and a committed contrarian" (New York Times Book Review), Elijah Wald is one of the leading popular music critics of his generation. In The Blues, Wald surveys a genre at the heart of American culture. It is not an easy thing to pin down. As Howlin' Wolf once described it, "When you ain't got no money and can't pay your house rent and can't buy you...
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Diplomacy: a very short introduction
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English
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Who were the Druids? What do we know about them? Do they still exist today? The Druids first came into focus in Western Europe—Gaul, Britain, and Ireland—in the second century BC. They are a popular subject; they have been known and discussed for over 2,000 years and few figures flit so elusively through history. They are enigmatic and puzzling, partly because of the lack of knowledge about them has resulted in a wide spectrum of interpretations.
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English
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Film music is as old as cinema itself. Years before synchronized sound became the norm, projected moving images were shown to musical accompaniment, whether performed by a lone piano player or a hundred-piece orchestra. Today film music has become its own industry, indispensable to the marketability of movies around the world. Film Music: A Very Short Introduction is a compact, lucid, and thoroughly engaging overview written by one of the leading...
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English
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Forensic science is a subject of wide fascination. What happens at a crime scene? How does DNA profiling work? How can it help solve crimes that happened 20 years ago? In forensic science, a criminal case can often hinge on a piece of evidence such as a hair, a blood trace, half a footprint, or a tyre mark. Complex scientific findings must be considered carefully and dispassionately, and communicated with clarity, simplicity, and precision. In this...
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Martin Luther: a very short introduction
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North American Indians: a very short introduction
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Romanticism: a very short introduction
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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
"Compromise is essential for accomplishing anything significant in the legislative arena, and yet recent political polarization has made compromise much harder to achieve. The U.S. Congress was created by a compromise at the Constitutional Convention, which established a House of Representatives apportioned by population, and a Senate in which all states would be equal. The House set rules to allow its majority to prevail, while Senate rules gave...
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Utopianism: a very short introduction
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Publisher
OUP Oxford
Pub. Date
2010
Language
English
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Witchcraft is a subject that fascinates us all, and everyone knows what a witch is - or do they? From childhood most of us develop a sense of the mysterious, malign person, usually an old woman. Historically, too, we recognize witch-hunting as a feature of pre-modern societies. But why do witches still feature so heavily in our cultures and consciousness? From Halloween to superstitions, and literary references such as Faust and even Harry Potter,...
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Oxford University Press
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English
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Description
"The population of the United States has diverse sources: territorial acquisition through conquest and colonialism, the slave trade, and voluntary immigration, which has been the greatest instrument of population expansion and has been central to the transition in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries from a rural-agricultural to an urban-industrial society. Recognition of the need for labor to develop and expand economic activity has been central...
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The animal kingdom: a very short introduction
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Author
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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
2011.
Language
English
Description
Computers have changed so much since the room-filling, bulky magnetic tape running monsters of the mid 20th century. They now form a vital part of most people's lives. And they are more ubiquitous than might be thought - you may have more than 30 computers in your home: not just the desktop and laptop but think of the television, the fridge, the microwave. But what is the basic nature of the modern computer? How does it work? How has it been possible...
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Derrida: a very short introduction
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Early music: a very short introduction
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Genius: a very short introduction
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Humanism: a very short introduction
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Jesus: a very short introduction
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Late antiquity: a very short introduction
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Modern France: a very short introduction
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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
2011.
Language
English
Description
An introduction to the major aspects of Muhammad's life and its importance, providing both Muslim and Western historical perspectives. It explains the prominent roles that Muhammad's persona has played in the Islamic world throughout history, from the medieval to the modern period.
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Pentecostalism: a very short introduction
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Protestantism: a very short introduction
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Scientific revolution: a very short introduction
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Australia: a very short introduction
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Film: a very short introduction
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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
2012.
Language
English
Description
In this Very Short Introduction, Jacqueline Stedall explores the rich historical and cultural diversity of mathematical endeavour from the distant past to the present day, using illustrative case studies drawn from a range of times and places; including early imperial China, the medieval Islamic world, and nineteenth-century Britain-- Source other than Library of Congress.
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Magic: a very short introduction
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Magna Carta: a very short introduction
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Magnetism: a very short introduction
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Metaphysics: a very short introduction
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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
2012
Language
English
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In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Mongols carved out the largest land-based empire in world history, stretching from Korea to Russia in the north and from China to Syria in the south, and unleashing an unprecedented level of violence. But as Morris Rossabi reveals in this Very Short Introduction, within two generations of their bloody conquests, the Mongols evolved from conquerors and predators to wise rulers who devised policies to...
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Radioactivity: a very short introduction
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Pub. Date
2012.
Language
English
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Rivers have acted as cradles for civilization and agents of disaster; a river may be a barrier or a highway, it can support trade and sediment, culture and conflict. This Very Short Introduction is a celebration of rivers in all their diversity. Geographer Nick Middleton covers a wide and eclectic range of river-based themes, from physical geography to mythology, to industrial history and literary criticism. Offering a truly global look at rivers,...
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The Roman Republic: a very short introduction
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Russian history: a very short introduction
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Pub. Date
2012.
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English
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Every atom of our bodies has been part of a star. In this lively and compact introduction, astrophysicist Andrew King reveals how the laws of physics force stars to evolve, driving them through successive stages of maturity before their inevitable and sometimes spectacular deaths, to end as remnants such as black holes. The book shows how we know what stars are made of, how gravity forces stars like the Sun to shine by transmuting hydrogen into helium...
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American legal history: a very short introduction
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Author
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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
2013.
Language
English
Description
Astrobiology is an exciting new subject, and one, arguably, more interdisciplinary than any other. Astrobiologists seek to understand the origin and evolution of life on Earth in order to illuminate and guide the search for life on other planets. In this Very Short Introduction, David C. Catling introduces the subject through our understanding of the factors that allowed life to arise and persist on our own planet, and for the signs we are looking...
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The British Empire: a very short introduction
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Food
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English
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From the contours of coastlines to the outlines of clouds and the branching of trees, fractal shapes can be found everywhere in nature. Kenneth Falconer explains the basic concepts of fractal geometry which produced a revolution in the mathematical understanding of patterns in the twentieth century and explores a range of applications in science and of economics.
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Mao: a very short introduction
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Rastafari: a very short introduction
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Author
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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
[2014]
Language
English
Description
"African American Religion offers a provocative historical and philosophical treatment of the religious life of African Americans. Glaude argues that the phrase "African American religion" is meaningful only insofar as it singles out the distinctive ways religion has been leveraged by African Americans to respond to different racial regimes in the United States. That bold claim frames how he reads the historical record. Slavery, Jim Crow, and current...
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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
2013
Language
English
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Description
Ethnomusicologists believe that all humans, not just those we call musicians, are musical, and that musicality is one of the essential touchstones of the human experience. This insight raises big questions about the nature of music and the nature of humankind, and ethnomusicologists argue that to properly address these questions, we must study music in all its geographical and historical diversity. In this Very Short Introduction, one of the foremost...
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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Language
English
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Description
"Henry James: A Very Short Introduction places Henry James's notoriously difficult writings in their historical and biographical context. Henry James had a major impact on the literary culture of his time and ever since. From his childhood through his mature life, James created a unique body of fiction, travel writing, reviews, and theory that represents one of the greatest achievements in America's literary history. This VSI studies various fictional...
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Publisher
Oxford University Press
Pub. Date
[2024]
Language
English
Description
"Marcel Proust: A Very Short Introduction provides an overview and brief guide of the magnum opus of Marcel Proust. Proust, who wrote stories, essays, and translations, was arguably the best-known literary writer in France during his time. Moreover, Proust wrote a 3,000-page novel known as "In Search of Lost Time" (1913-27). The novel primarily revolves around the quest for purpose, enchantment, identity, connection, and belonging. Additionally, the...