Through the interpretative lens of today’s leading thinkers, The Philosophical Salon illuminates the persistent intellectual queries and the most disquieting concerns of our actuality. Across its three main divisions—Speculations, Reflections, and Interventions—the volume constructs a complex mirror, in which our age might be able to recognize itself with all its imperfections, shadowy sp…
For over fifty years, between around 1870 and 1914, there was a thriving trade that saw translucent block ice exported to Great Britain from the fjords and lakes of Norway. By 1899, the volume of ice landed in Britain had reached over half a million tons, with the port of London often accounting for 40–50 per cent of that total. The ice was needed for food preservation as Britain’s increasi…
Liberalism is one of the most central and pervasive political theories and ideologies, yet it is subject to different interpretations as well as misappropriations. Its history carries a crucial heritage of civilized thinking, of political practice, and of philosophical-ethical creativity. This Very Short Introduction unpacks the concept of liberalism and its various interpretations through t…
In this book, we have attempted to break new ground. Our study is unique in several respects: not only does it produce a set of maps for a remote and poorly known area of Australia, but also the distributional point data of each species are integrated and compared with the spatial distribution of their larval food plants. The geographic range of each …
There are many reasons why I liked Mary so much, as a person, a writer and a philosopher. I liked her for her wit, her warmth, her level- headedness and her moral clarity; her ability to steer clear of all unnecessary technicalities and cut straight to the chase, focusing on the big picture rather than getting mired in the details of any particu…
From the wilds of Kruger National Park, to cosmopolitan Cape Town, to the lush western cape winelands, to the stunning beaches along the Garden Route, this guide leads you straight to the greatest attractions this fascinating and varied country has to offer. Get insider tips on everything from the best shopping, restaurants, and hotels, to outdoor activities such as whale-watching, surfing, and…
By the time the First World War ended in 1918, eight million people had died in what had been perhaps the most apocalyptic episode the world had known. This Very Short Introduction provides a concise and insightful history of the 'Great War', focusing on why it happened, how it was fought, and why it had the consequences it did.It examines the state of Europe in 1914 and the outbreak of war; th…
Here is the extraordinary story of the unfolding of life on Earth, told by Michael J. Benton, a world-renowned authority on biodiversity. Ranging over four billion years, Benton weaves together the latest findings on fossils, earth history, evolutionary biology, and many other fields to highlight the great leaps that enabled life to evolve from microbe to human--big breakthroughs that made whol…
Karl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) is considered by many to have been one of the greatest writers on war. His study On War was described by the American strategic thinker Bernard Brodie as "not simply the greatest, but the only great book about war". It is hard to disagree. Even though he wrote his only major work at a time when the range of firearms was 50 yards, much of what he had to say remain…
Film is arguably the dominant art form of the twentieth century. In this Very Short Introduction, Michael Wood offers a wealth of insight into the nature of film, considering its role and impact on society as well as its future in the digital age. As Wood notes, film is many things, but it has become above all a means of telling stories through images and sounds. The stories are often quite fal…