Causation is the most fundamental connection in the universe. Without it, there would be no science or technology. There would be no moral responsibility either, as none of our thoughts would be connected with our actions and none of our actions...
The image of a job captures our imagination from an early age, usually prompted by the question 'What do you want to be when you grow up?'. Work -- paid, unpaid, voluntary, or obligatory -- is woven into the fabric of all human societies. For many...
Law has played a central role in American history. From colonial times to the present, law has not just reflected the changing society in which legal decisions have been made-it has played a powerful role in shaping that society, though not always...
In this wide-ranging Very Short Introduction to climate, Mark Maslin considers all aspects of the global climate system, exploring and explaining the different components that control climate on Earth. He considers the processes that allow energy to...
If you move at high speed, time slows down, space squashes up and you get heavier. Travel fast enough and you could weigh as much as a jumbo jet, be flattened thinner than a CD without feeling a thing-and live forever! As for the angles of a...
Anti-Semitism has been a chillingly persistent presence throughout the last millennium, culminating in modern times in the horror of the Final Solution. This Very Short Introduction examines and untangles the various strands of anti-Semitism seen...
The New Deal shaped our nation's politics for decades, and was seen by many as tantamount to the -American Way- itself. Now, in this superb compact history, Eric Rauchway offers an informed account of the New Deal and the Great Depression,...
The Sikh religion has a following of over 20 million people worldwide and is ranked as the world's fifth largest religion. However, events such as the verbal and physical attacks on Sikhs just after September 11 indicated that they were being...
World Music draws readers into a remarkable range of historical encounters, in which music had the power to evoke the exotic and to give voice to the voiceless. In the course of the volume's eight chapters the reader witnesses music's involvement in...
The Reformation was a seismic event in European history, one which left an indelible mark on the modern world. In this Very Short Introduction, Peter Marshall illuminates the causes and consequences of this pivotal movement in western Christianity....