Böcker i Very Short Introductions-serien

Set against the backdrop of an ever-changing international landscape, this Very Short Introduction explores both the history and politics of nuclear weapons. In this new edition, Joseph M. Siracusa includes a new concluding chapter, highlighting the significant lessons to be learnt from the history of the nuclear weapons era.

Written by one of the world's leading experts in the field, this book offers a clear account of the contributions to philosophy made by one of Britain's greatest thinkers. Harris covers Hume's main interests of human nature, morality, politics, and religion, and explores the philosophical questions that remain at the heart of the subject today.

This book considers the steady presence of blasphemy in our world today, even as society grows increasingly secular. Discussing some of the most famous cases of blasphemy, it looks at factors such as the increased visibility of religious and racial minorities, new media, and engines of surveillance, and the legacies of colonial blasphemy laws.

In this book, Julian Baggini explores the arguments for atheism, and dispels some common myths, explaining how a life without religious belief can be positive, meaningful, and moral. This new edition discusses the recent flowering of 'New Atheism' and considers the position of atheism in society today.

Stem cells are a rapidly developing area of research. This book explains the nature and different types of stem cells, explores their applications in medicine for treating diseases and injuries, and considers the major areas of current research.

James Joyce was one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. This book explores his novels and short stories, and analyses the literary traditions and social factors influencing his distinctive complex style. Interweaving Joyce's life and history with his books, it also shows how Joyce celebrated his own experiences in Dublin.

What is time? This book describes the developing physics of the concept of time from Newton, via Einstein, to the present day, and the related philosophical aspects. It also discusses the psychological experience of time and insights from cognitive science.

How do we define consciousness or intentionality? Is the neurophysiology of pain all there is to pain? How do words and mental pictures come to represent things in the world? Do computers think? Barbara Montero tackles these and other thorny issues at the heart of the field of philosophy of mind.

From the schools of ancient times to the present day, Gary Thomas looks at how and why education evolved as it has. By exploring some of the big questions, he examines the ways in which schools work, considers the differences around the world, and concludes by considering the future of education worldwide.

This Very Short Introduction looks at the importance accorded to the Bible by different communities and cultures and attempts to explain why it has generated such a rich variety of uses and interpretations. It explores how the Bible was written, the development of the canon, the role of Biblical criticism, the appropriation of the Bible in high and popular culture, and its use for political ends.

This book describes the evolution of Marian thought from early Christianity to the present day. Covering the various Christian denominations, as well as the Islamic Mary, it considers medieval and renaissance doctrine and representations of Mary, as well as her involvement in debates over the Virginal body, race, anti-Semitism, and globalism.

Pippa Virdee considers the history of Pakistan, created as a new nation state in 1947, placing it in the context of the region's four-thousand-year-old pre-colonial heritage. She discusses Pakistan's religion and society, the state and the military, popular culture, language and literature, as well as its relationship with the rest of the world.

Richard Whatmore examines the diverse, interconnected relationships between political history, theory, and action. Considering the work of Michel Foucalt, John Pocock, Quentin Skinner and other key theorists, this book highlights the connections between past and present political systems, and the ongoing relevance of the field today.

Drawing on examples from across the globe and throughout history, Andrew Kahn explores the key characteristics of the short story. He shows how its rise was intertwined with international print culture, and discusses the essential techniques within this thriving literary genre, as well as the ways in which it is constantly innovated, even today.

For many decades, we were only familiar with our own system of planets, the Solar System, orbiting our Sun. Now we know that it is just one among a vast range of planetary systems around distant stars. This book explores the nature and variety of planetary systems, how they are formed, and how they die.

This book explores the extraordinarily diverse and beautiful world of insects, from tiny wasps to giant beetles. It analyses insect evolution, and describes their behaviour, their environments, and the interactions they have with other animals. It also discusses their vital role in all land ecosystems, and their importance for our own survival.

Jane Austen is one of the most widely-read novelists in the English language, and one of very few pre-Victorian writers to have a large popular following. This book situates Austen in the literary and historical context of her time, and combines critical introductions to each of her six major novels with the exploration of key themes of her work.

Evangelicalism has rapidly become one of the most significant religious movements in the modern world. An umbrella term that encompasses many Protestant denominations that share core tenets of Christianity, evangelicalism is foremost defined by its disciples'' consideration of the Bible as the ultimate moral and historical authority, the desire to evangelize or spread the faith, and the value of religious conversion known as being ΓÇ£born again.ΓÇ¥As the Evangelical movement has grown rapidly, so has its influence on the political stage. Evangelicals affect elections up and down the Americas and across Africa, provoke governments throughout Asia, fill up some of the largest church buildings, and possess the largest congregations of any religion in the world. Yet evangelicals are wildly diverse- from Canadian Baptists to Nigerian Anglicans, from South Sea Methodists to Korean Presbyterians, and from house churches in Beijing tomegachurches in Sa├╡ Paulo.This Very Short Introduction tells the evangelical story from the preacher-led revivals of the eighteenth century, through the frontier camp meetings of the nineteenth, to the mass urban rallies of the twentieth, and the global megachurches of the twenty-first. More than just a sketch of where evangelicals have come from, this volume aims to clearly examine the heart of evangelical phenomenon. Is there such a (single) thing as evangelicalism? What is its basic character? Where are theevangelicals going? And what in the world do they want?

Adrian Wilkinson reviews the historical development of human resource management, showing how the changes in political, legal, and macroeconomic spheres have shaped how human resources are managed. Considering HRM in a global world, he considers how it is adapting to a very different work landscape.

Elizabeth Bishop has been described as the 'best-loved' poet in English of the second half of the twentieth century. This book explores the published poems at the core of her remarkable canon of verse, along with her letters and other writings, and draws out key themes of the environment, balance, and ideas of love and loss.

Famous for her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley was also infamous in her own time for breaking social and literary conventions, and taking a political and philosophical stance advocating for the rights of women. Charlotte Gordon explores the context and key themes in the life and work of this courageous, complicated, and accomplished woman.

John Stuart Mill (1806-73) is widely regarded as the leading liberal philosopher, economist, and political theorist of nineteenth century Britain. This book offers a brief survey of his life and ideas, highlighting the philosophical context for his work, exploring the key themes in his writings, and analysing their lasting influence.

CBT is a form of psychological therapy with a range of approaches that share a common underpinning model of the importance of cognition and behaviour in alleviating psychological distress. This book gives an overview of what CBT is, what it does, when it can be used, and the ways in which the field can adapt to meet future challenges.

Violence is part and parcel of both human history and nature. It is the one thing that all cultures and societies share in common. This book considers violence in the modern world, examining the ideas underpinning it, and the cultural context for violence over the last two centuries. It also asks if we are becoming more or less violent.

This book provides a fresh modern introduction to geometry, an ancient branch of mathematics with important applications. It takes readers from Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries, to curved spaces, and the geometry of space-time inside a black hole, and outlines the role geometry plays in the broader context of science and art.

This book explains the philosophical and historical concepts that shape current debates about science and religion. It also considers some of the themes and issues that have become more prominent in the past decade, such as science denial, climate change and environmentalism, and religion and public health - including responses to Covid-19.

Fluid mechanics is an important branch of physics concerned with the way in which fluids, such as liquids and gases, behave when in motion and at rest. Starting from the fundamental underlying physical principles, Eric Lauga highlights the role of fluid motion in both the natural and industrial world, and considers future applications.

Technology does not stand apart from music, influencing it from the outside--it is a part of music, integral to every aspect of musical activity and musical life.