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.
Education: The Basics
2nd Edition
By Kay Wood
August 18, 2025
Everyone knows that education is important. We are confronted daily by discussion of it in the media and by politicians, but how much do we really know about education? Education: The Basics is a lively and engaging introduction to education as an academic subject, taking into account both theory ...
Semiotics: The Basics
5th Edition
By Daniel Chandler
August 08, 2025
This fifth edition of the bestselling textbook is a major new revision, continuing to provide a concise introduction to the key concepts of semiotics in accessible and jargon-free language. Demystifying what is a complex, highly interdisciplinary field, key questions covered include: What are signs...
The Human Skeleton: The Basics
1st Edition
By Steven N. Byers
August 04, 2025
The Human Skeleton: The Basics provides an accessible overview of the basic characteristics of the human skeleton that can be used to understand the life and (sometimes) death of persons represented only by their skeletons. Topics covered include: Osteology (bones) and Odontology (teeth), ...
Politics and Religion: The Basics
1st Edition
By Jeffrey Haynes
July 31, 2025
Politics and Religion: The Basics provides a concise introduction to the complex interactions between politics and religion in both domestic and international contexts. This book examines the role of religion in shaping political systems, behaviours and debates worldwide. By introducing some of the...
Poetry: The Basics
4th Edition
By Jeffrey Wainwright
July 25, 2025
Now in its fourth edition, Poetry: The Basics remains an engaging exploration of the exciting and diverse world of poetry. Jeffrey Wainwright’s accessible introduction demystifies poetic forms and traditions, which can at first seem bewildering. Drawing on examples ranging from Chaucer to ...
Transactional Analysis: The Basics
1st Edition
By Mark Widdowson
July 13, 2025
This accessible textbook on transactional analysis (TA) provides a comprehensive overview of TA theory, with a strong emphasis throughout on practical application. The core theory of TA is explained, as well as how concepts have developed over time. Each theoretical concept is presented with brief ...
Sikhism - The Basics
1st Edition
By Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, Eleanor Nesbitt
June 17, 2025
Sikhism: The Basics provides an accessible, up-to-date and gender inclusive introduction to one of the five major world religions. The chronological and geographical parameters of the book are expansive, tracing five and half centuries ‒ from the vision of the founder Guru (Nanak 1469-1539) to its ...
Energy: The Basics
2nd Edition
By Harold Schobert
June 02, 2025
Energy: The Basics offers a concise and engaging introduction to energy, answering critical questions and providing accessible definitions of essential concepts and developments in the field. People rarely stop to think about where the energy they use to power their everyday lives comes from and ...
Mad Studies: The Basics
1st Edition
By Merrick Daniel Pilling
May 21, 2025
Mad Studies: The Basics provides an introductory account of a field that emerged from, and must remain grounded within, community knowledge, activism, and the perspectives of those who have experienced madness and mental health systems. It is a concise text that introduces the field through an ...
Quakerism: The Basics
2nd Edition
By Margery Post Abbott, Carl Abbott
May 21, 2025
Quakerism: The Basics introduces a vibrant twenty-first-century religion, tracing the evolution of the Religious Society of Friends from its origins in seventeenth-century England to a worldwide religion, balancing discussion of Quaker history, evolving beliefs and practices, and contemporary ...
Propaganda: The Basics
1st Edition
By Nathan Crick
May 19, 2025
This concise and accessible guide makes clear the ubiquity of propaganda so that readers can understand its function in all layers of society, for both good or for ill, and ultimately use it to make their own voice heard. Propaganda often appears as a paradoxical art: modern society is awash in ...
Ethnography: The Basics
1st Edition
By Susan Wardell
May 16, 2025
Ethnography: The Basics introduces a broad and beginner audience to ethnography as a research methodology with diverse applications. By using everyday language and developing a warm and inclusive tone, the book provides an accessible entry point to the topic. It offers a picture of the practice of ...