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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.

256 Series Titles


Couple Therapy The Basics

Couple Therapy: The Basics

1st Edition

By Molly Ludlam
August 08, 2024

Couple Therapy: The Basics provides a comprehensive introduction to couple therapy. Taking both a general overview and a psychoanalytic focus, it addresses the basic questions that both couples and those interested in becoming couple therapists can expect to ask. Using jargon-light language, this ...

Simone de Beauvoir: The Basics

Simone de Beauvoir: The Basics

1st Edition

By Megan Burke
August 08, 2024

Simone de Beauvoir: The Basics provides an accessible introduction to the life, work and ground-breaking ideas of author, philosopher, and feminist Simone de Beauvoir. The book offers readers “the basics” of Beauvoir, affording new and continuing readers a guide to her works and ideas. The book ...

Philosophy of Language: The Basics

Philosophy of Language: The Basics

1st Edition

By Ethan Nowak
July 31, 2024

This book provides beginners with a sense of the questions and methods that make up the philosophy of language. The first four chapters develop the idea that language is a system that allows us to exchange information with each other, and the second four chapters explore the idea that language...

Secularism: The Basics

Secularism: The Basics

2nd Edition

By Jacques Berlinerblau
July 22, 2024

Secularism: The Basics is a concise and engaging introduction to confusing and contradictory public discussions of secularism across the globe.  In this lively and lucid book, Jacques Berlinerblau addresses why secularism is defined in so many ways and why it so ignites people’s passions. In ...

Therapy The  Basics

Therapy: The Basics

1st Edition

By sissy lykou
July 09, 2024

Therapy: The Basics is an introductory book to psychotherapy and its different theoretical approaches. It attempts to demystify and de-stigmatise therapy by answering some common questions posed by prospective clients. lykou presents an accessible overview of psychotherapy and counselling, mapping ...

Literary Theory: The Basics

Literary Theory: The Basics

4th Edition

By Hans Bertens
June 28, 2024

Now in its fourth edition, Literary Theory: The Basics is an essential guide to the complicated and often confusing world of literary theory. Readers will encounter a broad range of topics from Marxist and feminist criticism to postmodernism, queer studies, and ecocriticism. Literary Theory: The ...

Aphasia The Basics

Aphasia: The Basics

1st Edition

By Jane Marshall
June 25, 2024

This book provides a comprehensive yet accessible introduction to aphasia, or loss of language, a complex condition that affects approximately a third of stroke survivors. It describes the varied manifestations of aphasia on speech, comprehension, reading and writing. Chapters explore how aphasia ...

Gestalt Therapy The Basics

Gestalt Therapy: The Basics

1st Edition

By Dave Mann
June 03, 2024

Gestalt Therapy: The Basics provides an accessible and concise overview of the approach and its substantial theory. Experiential exercises, clinical vignettes and examples from everyday practice are included to enrich understanding of gestalt’s theory and its clinical application. This book ...

Philosophy of Time: The Basics

Philosophy of Time: The Basics

1st Edition

By Graeme Forbes
May 30, 2024

What is time? Does it pass? Is the future open? Why do we care? Philosophy of Time: The Basics doesn’t answer these questions. It does give you an opinionated introduction to thinking a bit more deeply about them. Written in a way that assumes no philosophical background from its readers, this book...

Critical Theory: The Basics

Critical Theory: The Basics

1st Edition

By Martin Shuster
May 27, 2024

Critical Theory: The Basics brings clarity to a topic that is confusingly bandied about with various meanings today in popular and academic culture. First defined by Max Horkheimer in the 1930s, “critical theory” now extends far beyond its original German context around the Frankfurt School and the...

Japan: The Basics

Japan: The Basics

2nd Edition

By Christopher P. Hood
May 23, 2024

Japan: The Basics is an engaging introduction to the culture, society, and global positioning of Japan. Starting by looking at the common stereotypes, clichés, and tropes associated with Japan, this accessible introduction to the country is designed to arm readers with key skills and knowledge for...

Forensic Psychology: The Basics

Forensic Psychology: The Basics

3rd Edition

By Sandie Taylor
May 09, 2024

This third edition of Forensic Psychology: The Basics continues to provide an accessible overview of the core topics and theories in this fascinating discipline. The book provides an engaging discussion of core topics and theory in forensic psychology, alongside information about the role of a ...

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