Oxford University Press

An Amazonian Water Lily, The Quest to Make it Bloom, and the World it CreatedThe fascinating story of the massive Amazonian water lily, the Victoria regia, from its discovery in the wilds of British Guiana in 1837 to its metamorphosis into a symbol of Victorian culture and of the British Empire itself....

Why are so many people fascinated by superheroes? In this thoughtful, engaging, and intelligent collection, editor Robin Rosenberg -- psychologist, writer, and well-known expert on the psychology of superheroes -- compiles essays by some of the world's leading scholars to address our relationships with superheroes (and supervillains) as well...

Representations, Structures, and ComputationThis book collects Peter Culicover's key observations on the nature of syntax and its place within the architecture of language. Over four decades his pioneering examinations of expression and interpretation have led him to rebalance the elements of grammar and to reformulate linguistic theory. The...

A Study of Thick Concepts in EthicsVayrynen argues that thick concepts -- such as lewd and rude, selfish and cruel, courageous and kind -- are evaluative only as a matter of pragmatics. If thick concepts are not inherently evaluative in meaning, they cannot have the deep and distinctive significance they are often given in moral philosophy....

From the contours of coastlines to the outlines of clouds, fractal shapes can be found regularly in nature. This Very Short Introduction explains the basic concepts, presents the 'new geometry' of fractals, explores its wide range of applications, and shows the central place fractals have gained in mathematics and science in recent years....

This book explores how memories and traces of the reign of Richard III survived a century and more to influence the world and work of William Shakespeare, offering a new approach to the cultural history of the Tudor era, whilst shedding fresh light on the sources and preoccupations of Shakespeare's play....