In 1995, Oxford University Press began to publish a book series called “A Very Short Introduction.” Now the series covers a wide variety of topics in every discipline, such as Psychology, Philosophy of Science, and American History. These volumes are as slim as poetry books, but they are written by experts in their particular fields. If you want to learn a new subject, “A Very Short Introduction” is perfect for you. There are over 700 titles and the collection continues to grow in every subject area. Here are some of the lovely little books.
1. GLOBALIZATION by Manfred B.Steger
2. ENTREPRENEURSHIP by Paul Westhead & Mike Wright
3. MARKETING by Kenneth Le Meunoer- FitzHugh
4. MANAGEMENT by John Hendry
5. JOURNALISM by Ian Hargreaves
6. GLOBAL CATASTROPHES by Bill McGuire
7. PUBLIC HEALTH by Virginia Berridge
8. MODERN WAR by Richard English
9. THE PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI CONFLICT by Martin Bunton
10. POSTCOLONIALISM by Robert J. C. Young
11. AMERICAN HISTORY by Paul S. Boyer
12. HOLLYWOOD by Peter Decherney
13. PRIVACY by Raymond Wacks
14. DYNASTY by Jeroen Duindam
15. CONFUCIANISM by Daniel K. Gardner
16. JUDAISM by Norman Solomon
17. FASCISM by Kevin Passmore
18. LIBERALISM by Michael Freeden
19. THE HISTORY OF COMPUTING by Doron Swade
20. ENGINEERING by David Blockley
21. MATHEMATICS by Timothy Gowers
22. THE HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS by Jacqueline Stedall
23. STATISTICS by David J. Hand
24. PROBABILITY by John Haigh
25. APPLIED MATHEMATICS by Alain Goriely
26. NUMBERS by Peter M. Higgins
27. NUMBER THEORY by Robin Wilson
28. COMBINATORICS by Robin Wilson
29. INFINITY by Ian Stewart
30. SYMMETRY by Ian Stewart
31. GEOMETRY by Maciej Dunajski
32. TRIGONOMETRY by Glen Van Brummelen
33. CHEMISTRY by Peter Atkins
34. PSYCHOLOGY by Gillian Butler & Freda McManus
35. CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY by Susan Llewelyn & Katie Aafjes-van Doorn
36. COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY by Freda McManus
37. THINKING AND REASONING by Jonathan St B. T. Evans
38. PSYCHIATRY by Tom Burns
39. BACTERIA by Sebastian G. B. Ameyes
40. MICROBIOLOGY by Nicholas P. Money
41. BIOCHEMISTRY by Mark Lorch
42. HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY by Jamie A. Davies
43. PARTICLE PHYSICS by Frank Close
44. ASTROPHYSICS by James Binney
45. COPERNICUS by Owen Gingerich
46. GALAXIES by John Gribbin
47. STARS by Andrew King
48. GRAVITY by Timothy Clifton
49. BLACK HOLES by Katherine Blundell
50. CLIMATE by Mark Maslin
51. THE ANIMAL KINGDOM by Peter Holland
52. MAMMALS by T. S. Kemp
53. EXTINCTION by Paul B. Wignall
54. HUMAN EVOLUTION by Bernard Wood
55. AGRICULTURE by Paul Brassley & Richard Soffe
56. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE by Ian H. Thompson
57. LAKES by Warwick F. Vincent
58. OCEANS by Dorrik Stow
59. CORAL REEFS by Charles Sheppard
60. SAVANNAS by Peter A. Furley
61. FORESTS by Jaboury Ghazoul
62. DESERTS by Nick Middleton
63. MOUNTAINS by Martin F. Price
64. GLACIATION by David J. A. Evans
For more information visit the Oxford University Press website: oup.com/vsi.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gu Zhenzhen
Gu Zhenzhen, a mother of four and an Ontario-certified teacher, lives in Toronto with her family. Zhenzhen is currently working at the Toronto Public Library.
This article is featured in Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Fall 2023 issue.