Oxford University Press

A Very Short IntroductionWhat causes autism? Is it a genetic disorder, or due to some unknown environmental hazard? Are we facing an epidemic? What are the main symptoms, and how does it relate to Asperger syndrome? This  Very Short Introduction answers the key questions and offers a clear statement on what is currently known about autism and...

What Ice Age Extinctions Tell Us About the Fate of Earth&'s Largest AnimalsUntil about 13,000 years ago, North America was home to a menagerie of massive mammals. Mammoths, camels, and lions walked the ground that has become Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles and foraged on the marsh land now buried beneath Chicago&'s streets. Then, just as the...

A Very Short IntroductionThis Very Short Introduction traces the history of paleoanthropology from its beginnings in the eighteenth century to the very latest fossil finds. Bernard Wood shows how evidence from both fossils and the Human Genome Project can explain where modern-day humans fit into the Tree of Life....

A Very Short IntroductionTimothy Beal describes many aspects of religion in contemporary America that are typically ignored in other books on the subject, including religion in popular culture and counter-cultural groups; the growing phenomenon of "e;hybrid"e; religious identities, both individual and collective; the expanding numbers of...

Aristotle's Politics is one of the most influential texts in the history of political thought, and is essential reading for anyone seriously interested in the ways in which human societies are organized and governed.   For this edition Sir Ernest Barker's fine translation has been extensively revised to meet the needs of the modern reader. The...

In Ivanhoe Scott fashioned an imperial myth of national cultural identity that has shaped the popular imagination ever since its first appearance at the end of 1819. The most famous of Scottish novelists drew on the conventions of Gothic fiction, including its risky sexual and racial themes, to explore the violent origins and limits of English...