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.
By Daniel Chandler
August 08, 2025
This fifth edition of the bestselling textbook, now available in print and eBook, 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, ...
By Jeffrey Haynes
July 29, 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 ...
By Jeffrey Wainwright
July 14, 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 ...
By Mark Widdowson
July 14, 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 ...
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 ...
By Steven N. Byers
June 10, 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) Estimating...
By Harold Schobert
May 22, 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 ...
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 ...
By Merrick Daniel Pilling
May 19, 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 ...
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 ...
By Thomas J. Faulkenberry
April 30, 2025
Bayesian Statistics: The Basics provides a comprehensive yet accessible introduction to Bayesian statistics, specifically tailored for any researcher with an interest in statistical methods. It covers the theoretical foundations of Bayesian inference, contrasting it with classical statistical ...
By Susan Wardell
April 30, 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. In both tone and content, the book ...