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Agriculture by Paul Brassley; Richard Soffe
Category: Non-Fiction | Series: Very Short Introductions Ser.
Agriculture, one of the oldest human occupations, is practised all over the world, using techniques ranging from the profoundly traditional to the most scientifically advanced. Without it we would starve. Yet how many of us understand what is happening in the fields that we see as we drive through the c ...Show more
Ancient Assyria: A Very Short Introduction by Karen Radner
Category: History | Series: Very Short Introductions Ser.
Assyria was one of the most influential kingdoms of the Ancient Near East. In this Very Short Introduction, Karen Radner sketches the history of Assyria from city state to empire, from the early 2nd millennium BC to the end of the 7th century BC. Since the archaeological rediscovery of Assyria in the mi ...Show more
Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction by Erle C. Ellis
Category: Non-Fiction | Series: Very Short Introductions Ser.
The proposal that the impact of humanity on the planet has left a distinct footprint, even on the scale of geological time, has recently gained much ground. Global climate change, shifting global cycles of the weather, widespread pollution, radioactive fallout, plastic accumulation, species invasions, t ...Show more
Anxiety by Daniel Freeman; Jason Freeman
Category: Health | Series: Very Short Introductions Ser.
Are we born with our fears or do we learn them? Why do our fears persist? What purpose does anxiety serve? How common are anxiety disorders, and which treatments are most effective? What's happening in our brain when we feel fear? This Very Short Introduction draws on the best scientific research to off ...Show more
Autism by Uta Frith
Category: Health | Series: Very Short Introductions Ser.
What causes autism? Is it a genetic disorder, or due to some unknown environmental hazard? Are we facing an autism epidemic? What are the main symptoms, and how does it relate to Asperger syndrome? Everyone has heard of autism, but the disorder itself is little understood. It has captured the public ima ...Show more
Babylonia: a Very Short Introduction by Trevor Bryce
Category: History | Series: Very Short Introductions Ser.
The history of Ancient Babylonia in ancient Mesopotamia is epic. After playing host to three great empires, the Hammurabic and Kassite empires, and the Neo-Babylonian Empire ruled by Nebuchadnezzar, it was conquered by the Persians. Entered triumphantly by Alexander the Great, it later provided the sett ...Show more
Beauty: A Very Short Introduction by Roger Scruton
Category: Non-Fiction | Series: Very Short Introductions Ser.
Beauty can be consoling, disturbing, sacred, profane; it can be exhilarating, appealing, inspiring, chilling. It can affect us in an unlimited variety of ways. Yet it is never viewed with indifference. In this Very Short Introduction the renowned philosopher Roger Scruton explores the concept of beauty, ...Show more
Biochemistry: a Very Short Introduction by Mark Lorch
Category: Science | Series: Very Short Introductions Ser.
Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring From the simplest bacteria to humans, all living things are composed of cells of one type or another, all of which have fundamentally the same chemistry. This chemistry must provide mechanisms that allow cells to interact with the external world, a ...Show more
Byzantium: a Very Short Introduction by Peter Sarris
Category: History | Series: Very Short Introductions Ser.
After surviving the fifth century fall of the Western European Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire flourished as one of the most powerful economic, cultural, and military forces in Europe for a thousand years. In this Very Short Introduction Peter Sarris introduces the reader to the unique fusion of Roma ...Show more
Chinese Literature by Sabina Knight
Category: Philosophy | Series: Very Short Introductions Ser.
Perhaps nowhere else has literature been as conscious a collective endeavor as in China, and China's survival over three thousand years may owe more to its literary traditions than to its political history. This Very Short Introduction tells the story of Chinese literature from antiquity tothe present, ...Show more
Circadian Rhythms: a Very Short Introduction by Russell Foster; Leon Kreitzman
Category: Science | Series: Very Short Introductions Ser.
The earth's daily rotation affects just about every living creature. From dawn through to dusk, there are changes in light, temperature, humidity, and rainfall. However, these changes are regular, rhythmic and, therefore, predictable. Thus, the near 24 hour circadian rhythm is innate: a genetically prog ...Show more
Dada and Surrealism by David Hopkins
Category: Philosophy | Series: Very Short Introductions Ser.
The avant-garde movements of Dada and Surrealism continue to have a huge influence on cultural practice, especially in contemporary art, with its obsession with sexuality, fetishism, and shock tactics. In this new treatment of the subject, Hopkins focuses on the many debates surrounding thesemovements: ...Show more