The Basics
About the Book Series
The Basics is a highly successful series of accessible guidebooks which provide an overview of the fundamental principles of a subject area in a jargon-free and undaunting format.
Intended for students approaching a subject for the first time, the books both introduce the essentials of a subject and provide an ideal springboard for further study. With over 50 titles spanning subjects from Artificial Intelligence to Women’s Studies, The Basics are an ideal starting point for students seeking to understand a subject area.
Each text comes with recommendations for further study and gradually introduces the complexities and nuances within a subject.
Thought: The Basics
1st Edition
By Léa Salje
July 29, 2026
Our heads buzz with them while we're awake. They can spur us to action and creativity, or to daydream. They can be opinionated or contemplative, fleeting or recurring. We couldn’t do without them. Yet it remains surprisingly difficult to explain even the rudiments of thought without confusion or ...
Contemporary India: The Basics
2nd Edition
By Rekha Datta
July 17, 2026
Fully updated and expanded throughout, this second edition of Contemporary India: The Basics provides readers with a clear and accessible guide through the richness, diversity, and complexity of modern-day India. This essential second edition highlights the changes that contemporary India has ...
Global Comics: The Basics
1st Edition
By Frederick Luis Aldama
July 16, 2026
Offering an accessible introduction to the world of comics, this book provides a critical overview of how the form and content of comic books from around the globe have evolved over time. From Tokyo's manga cafés to Buenos Aires's kioscos, from Parisian ateliers to Lagos's digital studios, comics ...
Queer Studies: The Basics
1st Edition
By Katherine A. Hubbard, David A. Griffiths
July 10, 2026
Queer Studies: The Basics offers a concise and accessible introduction to the foundational principles, history, and contemporary concerns of queer studies. Organised across eight themed chapters, the book traces the development of queer theory from the late 20th century to the present, while ...
Public Health: The Basics
1st Edition
By Fiona Sim, Jenny Wright
July 09, 2026
Public Health: The Basics is the essential introduction to this evolving and vital subject. Accessible and engaging, the book takes readers through the key principles and themes that inform contemporary public health, encompassing both physical health and mental well-being. It spotlights the most ...
Urban Anthropology: The Basics
1st Edition
By Julian Brash
June 16, 2026
This book is a clearly and accessibly written short guide to the contemporary state of urban anthropology. It outlines what urban anthropologists study, how they do so, and what they have learned about urbanization and urbanism in the past and present in a way that makes sense to readers new to the...
Anthropology: The Basics
2nd Edition
By Peter A. Metcalf
May 29, 2026
The ultimate guide for the student encountering anthropology for the first time, Anthropology: The Basics explains and explores anthropological concepts and themes. In this immensely readable book, Peter A. Metcalf makes large and complex topics both accessible and enjoyable, arguing that the ...
China: The Basics
1st Edition
By Anna L. Lora-Wainwright
May 28, 2026
Drawing on over two decades of research in and on China and on extensive reviews of current scholarship, China: The Basics introduces readers to the key aspects of Chinese society, culture and politics. The book provides an empirically rich overview of China’s global position and the challenges ...
Economic Geography: The Basics
1st Edition
By Julie MacLeavy, Kean Fan Lim, Allan Watson
May 27, 2026
Through a concise and accessible overview, Economic Geography: The Basics examines how geographical concepts – place, space, territory, networks, and scale – enable the study of economic phenomena from a spatial perspective. Readers will develop an understanding of the diverse theoretical ...
World History: The Basics
2nd Edition
By Peter N. Stearns
May 25, 2026
World history continues to evolve as one of the most popular and widely discussed approaches to the study of history. The second edition of World History: The Basics offers an updated introduction of this fast-growing field, addressing key questions such as: What is world history? How do we study ...
Oceanography: The Basics
1st Edition
By Jonathan Sharples
May 06, 2026
Earth’s oceans are vital for sustaining life on our planet. Oceanography is an intrinsically multidisciplinary science that explores how the ocean does this. The author uses plankton as a focus for the book, drawing together the physics of the ocean circulation, the chemistry of nutrients and ...
Misinformation: The Basics
1st Edition
By Justin P. McBrayer
April 30, 2026
This book introduces readers to the topic of misinformation. In recent years, many people have become worried about fake news, misinformation, disinformation, and the like. Is this concern justified or a moral panic over nothing? Misinformation: The Basics provides readers with a short, accessible ...