Agriculture: A Very Short Introduction
Paul Brassley and Richard Soffe
Agriculture: A Very Short Introduction explains what farmers do and why they do it. Beginning with the most basic resource, the soil, it shows why it is important, and how ...
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Algebra: A Very Short Introduction
Peter M. Higgins
Algebra marked the beginning of modern mathematics, moving it beyond arithmetic, which involves calculations featuring given numbers, to problems in which some quantities are unknown. Now, ...
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Animal Behaviour: A Very Short Introduction
Tristram D. Wyatt
How animals behave is crucial to their survival and reproduction. Animal Behaviour: A Very Short Introduction discusses how animal behaviour has evolved, how behaviours develop in each ...
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The Animal Kingdom: A Very Short Introduction
Peter Holland
The Animal Kingdom: A Very Short Introduction presents a modern tour of the animal kingdom. Beginning with the definition of animals, this VSI goes on to show the high-level ...
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The Antarctic: A Very Short Introduction
Klaus Dodds
Antarctic: A Very Short Introduction provides a modern account of Antarctica, highlighting the main issues facing the continent today, looks at how the Antarctic has been ...
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Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction
Erle C. Ellis
Humanity’s impact on the planet has been profound. From fire, intensive hunting, and agriculture, it has accelerated into rapid climate change, widespread pollution, plastic accumulation, ...
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Anxiety: A Very Short Introduction
Daniel Freeman and Jason Freeman
Anxiety: A Very Short Introduction explains what anxiety is, why it is a normal and vital part of our emotional life, and the factors that cause it. Are we born with fears or ...
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Applied Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction
Alain Goriely
Mathematics is playing an increasingly important role in society and the sciences, enhancing our ability to use models and handle data. Applied Mathematics: A Very Short Introduction ...
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Artificial Intelligence: A Very Short Introduction
Margaret A. Boden
The applications of Artificial Intelligence lie all around us and affect all aspects of our lives. The results of Artificial Intelligence have been invaluable to biologists, psychologists, ...
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Astrobiology: A Very Short Introduction
David C. Catling
What fascinates people about astrobiology is that it seeks answers to long-standing unsolved questions: How quickly did life evolve on Earth and why did life persist here? Is there life ...
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Astrophysics: A Very Short Introduction
James Binney
Astrophysics is the physics of the stars and, more widely, the Universe. It explores the structure and evolution of planetary systems, stars, galaxies, interstellar gas, and the cosmos as a ...
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The Atmosphere: A Very Short Introduction
Paul I. Palmer
The atmosphere is the thin, diffuse fluid that envelops the Earth’s surface. Despite its apparent fragility, the existence of this fluid is vital for human and other life on Earth. The ...
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Autism: A Very Short Introduction
Uta Frith
Autism: A Very Short Introduction asks: What causes autism? Is it a genetic disorder, or due to some unknown environmental hazard? Are we facing an autism epidemic? What are ...
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Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction
Sebastian G.B. Amyes
Bacteria form a fundamental branch of life. They are the oldest forms of life as we know it, and they are still the most prolific living organisms. Bacteria: A Very Short Introduction ...
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Big Data: A Very Short Introduction
Dawn E. Holmes
Since long before computers were even thought of, data has been collected and organized by diverse cultures across the world. Once access to the Internet became a reality for large swathes ...
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Biogeography: A Very Short Introduction
Mark V. Lomolino
Biogeography: A Very Short Introduction explains how our ability to place life in an explicit geographic context is key to understanding our natural world. The geological ...
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Biometrics: A Very Short Introduction
Michael Fairhurst
Biometrics is the scientific discipline of identifying individuals by means of the measurement of unique personal attributes, such as facial appearance, fingerprints, iris patterning, the ...
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Black Holes: A Very Short Introduction
Katherine Blundell
Black holes are a constant source of fascination to many due to their mysterious nature. Black Holes: A Very Short Introduction addresses a variety of questions, including what a black hole ...
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Blood: A Very Short Introduction
Chris Cooper
Blood is vital to most animals. In mammals it transports oxygen and food, carries away waste, and contains the white cells that attack invading microbes. Playing a central role in life, ...
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Niels Bohr: A Very Short Introduction
J. L. Heilbron
Niels Bohr: A Very Short Introduction covers the life and work of the pioneer of the quantum theory of the atom who ranks with Einstein in importance for the development of ...
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The Brain: A Very Short Introduction
Michael O'Shea
How does the brain work? The Brain, A Very Short Introduction provides a non-technical introduction to the main issues and findings in current brain research, and gives a sense of how ...
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The Cell: A Very Short Introduction
Terence Allen and Graham Cowling
The Cell: A Very Short Introduction describes the nature of cells — their basic structure, their varying forms, their division, their differentiation from initially highly ...
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Chaos: A Very Short Introduction
Leonard Smith
Chaos: A Very Short Introduction shows that we all have an intuitive understanding of chaotic systems. It uses accessible maths and physics (replacing complex equations with ...
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Child Psychology: A Very Short Introduction
Usha Goswami
Child Psychology: A Very Short Introduction examines modern child psychology, tracing its development from birth up until early adolescence. Child Psychology studies the ...
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Circadian Rhythms: A Very Short Introduction
Russell Foster and Leon Kreitzman
The Earth’s daily rotation affects almost every living creature. From dawn through to dusk, there are changes in light, temperature, humidity, and rainfall. However, these changes are ...
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Civil Engineering: A Very Short Introduction
David Muir Wood
Civil Engineering: A Very Short Introduction examines the nature and importance of civil engineering in the history of civilization and urbanization. This VSI sets out the ...
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Climate: A Very Short Introduction
Mark Maslin
Climate: A Very Short Introduction considers all aspects of the global climate system, exploring and explaining the different components that control the climate on Earth. ...
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Clinical Psychology: A Very Short Introduction
Susan Llewelyn and Katie Aafjes-van Doorn
Clinical psychology makes a significant contribution to mental healthcare worldwide. Clinical Psychology: A Very Short Introduction provides insights into the world of clinical ...
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Cognitive Neuroscience: A Very Short Introduction
Richard Passingham
Cognitive neuroscience was born in the late 1970s when the study of patients who had suffered brain damage or injury to limited parts of the brain revealed different components and the ...
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Combinatorics: A Very Short Introduction
Robin Wilson
Combinatorics is the branch of mathematics concerned with selecting, arranging, and listing or counting collections of objects. Dating back some 3000 years, and initially consisting mainly ...
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Complexity: A Very Short Introduction
John H. Holland
From the movement of flocks of birds to the Internet, environmental sustainability, and market regulation, the study and understanding of complex non-linear systems has become highly ...
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The Computer: A Very Short Introduction
Darrel Ince
The Computer: A Very Short Introduction shows how computers have changed so much since the room–filling, bulky magnetic tape running monsters of the mid–20th century. They now ...
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Computer Science: A Very Short Introduction
Subrata Dasgupta
Over the past sixty years, there has been spectacular growth of the technologies associated with the computer. Yet, the science underpinning this technology is less visible and little ...
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Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
Susan Blackmore
Consciousness is ‘the last great mystery for science’. How can a physical brain create our experience of the world? What creates our identity? Do we really have free will? Could ...
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Copernicus: A Very Short Introduction
Owen Gingerich
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) was the astronomer whose shocking vision of a sun-centered universe turned out to be the essential blueprint for a physical understanding of celestial ...
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Coral Reefs: A Very Short Introduction
Charles Sheppard
Coral reefs are found all around the world, from the Indo-Pacific coral reef province to the Caribbean and Australia, and they support both marine and human life. They provide a rich supply ...
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Cosmology: A Very Short Introduction
Peter Coles
Cosmology: A Very Short Introductionexplains what cosmology is and what cosmologists do, looks at the history of the subject, the development of the Big Bang theory, and more ...
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Cryptography: A Very Short Introduction
Fred Piper and Sean Murphy
Cryptography: A Very Short Introduction provides a clear and informative introduction to cryptography and data protection — subjects of considerable social and political ...
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Crystallography: A Very Short Introduction
A. M. Glazer
Crystals have fascinated us for centuries with their beauty and symmetry, and have often been invested with magical powers. The development of X-ray diffraction heralded the scientific ...
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Darwin: A Very Short Introduction
Jonathan Howard
Darwin: A Very Short Introduction explores how Charles Darwin's theory of evolution has revolutionized biology since it was first presented to a wide readership in 1859. At ...
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Depression: A Very Short Introduction
Mary Jane Tacchi and Jan Scott
Covering melancholia, depression, manic depression, and bipolar disorder, Depression: A Very Short Introduction gives a brief account of the history of these concepts, before focusing on ...
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Deserts: A Very Short Introduction
Nick Middleton
Deserts: A Very Short Introduction explores the nature of deserts and the extent of their variety, climates, landscapes, wildlife, and human habitation. Typified by drought and ...
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Developmental Biology: A Very Short Introduction
Lewis Wolpert
Developmental Biology: A Very Short Introduction provides a concise account of what we now know about development, discussing the first vital steps of growth, the patterning ...
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Dinosaurs: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
David Norman
Dinosaurs: A Very Short Introduction discusses how dinosaurs were first discovered and interpreted, and how our understanding of them has changed over the past 200 years. It ...
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Dreaming: A Very Short Introduction
J. Allan Hobson
Dreaming: A Very Short Introduction provides an increasingly complete picture of how dreaming is created by the brain. It explores how the new science of dreaming is affecting ...
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The Earth: A Very Short Introduction
Martin Redfern
The Earth: A Very Short Introduction provides an introduction to the processes that govern the changing geology of the Earth. About 30 years ago, two things happened that began ...
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Earth System Science: A Very Short Introduction
Tim Lenton
The concept of the Earth’s atmosphere, biosphere, oceans, soil, and rocks operating as a closely interacting system has rapidly gained ground in science. Earth System Science: A Very Short ...
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Ecology: A Very Short Introduction
Jaboury Ghazoul
Ecology is the science of how organisms interact with each other and their environment to form communities and ecosystems. Ecology: A Very Short Introduction explains the history of ...
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The Elements: A Very Short Introduction
Philip Ball
The Elements: A Very Short Introduction traces the history and cultural impact of the elements on humankind, and examines why people have long sought to identify the substances ...
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Emotion: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
Dylan Evans
Was love invented by European poets in the Middle Ages or is it part of human nature? Will winning the lottery really make you happy? Is it possible to build robots that have feelings? ...
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