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The Basics


About the Series

The Basics is a highly successful series of accessible guidebooks which provide an overview of the fundamental principles of a subject area in a jargon-free and undaunting format.

Intended for students approaching a subject for the first time, the books both introduce the essentials of a subject and provide an ideal springboard for further study. With over 50 titles spanning subjects from Artificial Intelligence to Women’s Studies, The Basics are an ideal starting point for students seeking to understand a subject area.

Each text comes with recommendations for further study and gradually introduces the complexities and nuances within a subject.

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Jewish Philosophy: The Basics

Jewish Philosophy: The Basics

1st Edition

Forthcoming

By T.M. Rudavsky
August 22, 2025

This book introduces students and interested readers to two thousand years of Jewish philosophy, from its earliest inception to the current era. Fourteen chapters cover major figures in the medieval, modern and contemporary periods, as well as important themes and topics that have been part of ...

Education: The Basics

Education: The Basics

2nd Edition

Forthcoming

By Kay Wood
August 18, 2025

Everyone knows that education is important. We are confronted daily by discussion of it in the media and by politicians, but how much do we really know about education? Education: The Basics is a lively and engaging introduction to education as an academic subject, taking into account both theory ...

Semiotics: The Basics

Semiotics: The Basics

5th Edition

Forthcoming

By Daniel Chandler
August 08, 2025

This fifth edition of the bestselling textbook, now available in print and eBook, is a major new revision, continuing to provide a concise introduction to the key concepts of semiotics in accessible and jargon-free language. Demystifying what is a complex, highly interdisciplinary field, ...

Politics and Religion: The Basics

Politics and Religion: The Basics

1st Edition

Forthcoming

By Jeffrey Haynes
July 31, 2025

Politics and Religion: The Basics provides a concise introduction to the complex interactions between politics and religion in both domestic and international contexts. This book examines the role of religion in shaping political systems, behaviours, and debates worldwide. By introducing some of ...

Poetry: The Basics

Poetry: The Basics

4th Edition

Forthcoming

By Jeffrey Wainwright
July 14, 2025

Now in its fourth edition, Poetry: The Basics remains an engaging exploration of the exciting and diverse world of poetry. Jeffrey Wainwright’s accessible introduction demystifies poetic forms and traditions, which can at first seem bewildering. Drawing on examples ranging from Chaucer to ...

Transactional Analysis The Basics

Transactional Analysis: The Basics

1st Edition

Forthcoming

By Mark Widdowson
July 14, 2025

This accessible textbook on transactional analysis (TA) provides a comprehensive overview of TA theory, with a strong emphasis throughout on practical application.The core theory of TA is explained, as well as how concepts have developed over time. Each theoretical concept is presented with brief ...

Sikhism - The Basics

Sikhism - The Basics

1st Edition

Forthcoming

By Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, Eleanor Nesbitt
June 17, 2025

Sikhism: The Basics provides an accessible, up-to-date and gender inclusive introduction to one of the five major world religions. The chronological and geographical parameters of the book are expansive, tracing five and half centuries ‒ from the vision of the founder Guru (Nanak 1469-1539) to its ...

The Human Skeleton: The Basics

The Human Skeleton: The Basics

1st Edition

Forthcoming

By Steven N. Byers
June 10, 2025

The Human Skeleton: The Basics provides an accessible overview of the basic characteristics of the human skeleton that can be used to understand the life and (sometimes) death of persons represented only by their skeletons. Topics covered include: ·       Osteology (bones) and Odontology (teeth), ·...

Energy: The Basics

Energy: The Basics

2nd Edition

Forthcoming

By Harold Schobert
May 22, 2025

Energy: The Basics offers a concise and engaging introduction to energy, answering critical questions and providing accessible definitions of essential concepts and developments in the field. People rarely stop to think about where the energy they use to power their everyday lives comes from and ...

Quakerism: The Basics

Quakerism: The Basics

2nd Edition

Forthcoming

By Margery Post Abbott, Carl Abbott
May 21, 2025

Quakerism: The Basics introduces a vibrant twenty-first-century religion, tracing the evolution of the Religious Society of Friends from its origins in seventeenth-century England to a worldwide religion, balancing discussion of Quaker history, evolving beliefs and practices, and contemporary ...

Mad Studies: The Basics

Mad Studies: The Basics

1st Edition

Forthcoming

By Merrick Daniel Pilling
May 19, 2025

Mad Studies: The Basics provides an introductory account of a field that emerged from, and must remain grounded within, community knowledge, activism, and the perspectives of those who have experienced madness and mental health systems. It is a concise text that introduces the field through an ...

Propaganda The Basics

Propaganda: The Basics

1st Edition

Forthcoming

By Nathan Crick
May 19, 2025

This concise and accessible guide makes clear the ubiquity of propaganda so that readers can understand its function in all layers of society, for both good or for ill, and ultimately use it to make their own voice heard. Propaganda often appears as a paradoxical art: modern society is awash in ...

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