Plants: A Very Short Introduction
Title | Plants: A Very Short Introduction PDF eBook |
Author | Timothy Walker |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 145 |
Release | 2012-04-26 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 0199584060 |
Plants are a fundamental part of the biosphere and their evolution has directly affected animal life, and the Earth's climate. This Very Short Introduction provides a concise account of the nature of plants, their variety, their evolution, and their importance and uses, stressing the importance of conservation for the future.
Colonial America
Title | Colonial America PDF eBook |
Author | Alan Taylor |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 168 |
Release | 2013 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 0199766231 |
In this Very Short Introduction, Alan Taylor presents the current scholarly understanding of colonial America to a broader audience. He focuses on the transatlantic and a transcontinental perspective, examining the interplay of Europe, Africa, and the Americas through the flows of goods, people, plants, animals, capital, and ideas.
Heredity
Title | Heredity PDF eBook |
Author | John Waller |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 177 |
Release | 2017 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 0198790457 |
John Waller describes the changing ideas concerning heredity from antiquity to the modern biological understanding, considering both the efforts over the centuries to identify the physiological mechanisms involved and how views of heredity have been used to justify or condemn inequalities of class, gender, and race.
Ecology: a Very Short Introduction
Title | Ecology: a Very Short Introduction PDF eBook |
Author | Jaboury Ghazoul |
Publisher | Oxford University Press, USA |
Pages | 185 |
Release | 2020-07-09 |
Genre | Nature |
ISBN | 0198831013 |
Understanding how our living environment works is essentially a study of ecological systems. Ecology is the science of how organisms interact with each other and with their environment, and how such interactions create self-organising communities and ecosystems. This science touches us all. The food we eat, the water we drink, the natural resources we use, our physical and mental health, and much of our cultural heritage are to a large degree products of ecological interactions of organisms and their environment. This Very Short Introduction celebrates the centrality of ecology in our lives. Jaboury Ghazoul explores how ecology has evolved rapidly from natural history to become a predictive science that explains how the natural world works, and which guides environmental policy and management decisions. Drawing on a range of examples, he shows how ecological science can be applied to management and conservation, including the extent to which theory has shaped practice. Ecological science has also shaped social and cultural perspectives on the environment, a process that influences politics of the environment. Ghazoul concludes by considering the future of ecology, particularly in the light of current and future environmental challenges. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Developmental Biology: A Very Short Introduction
Title | Developmental Biology: A Very Short Introduction PDF eBook |
Author | Lewis Wolpert |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 153 |
Release | 2011-08-25 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 0199601194 |
"A concise account of what we know about development discusses the first vital steps of growth and explores one of the liveliest areas of scientific research."--P. [2] of cover.
Nuclear Power: A Very Short Introduction
Title | Nuclear Power: A Very Short Introduction PDF eBook |
Author | John Maxwell Irvine |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 161 |
Release | 2011-05-26 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 0199584974 |
Following the increasing cost of fossil fuels and concerns about the security of their future supply. However, the term 'nuclear power' causes anxiety in many people and there is confusion concerning the nature and extent of the associated risks.
Viruses
Title | Viruses PDF eBook |
Author | Dorothy H. Crawford |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Pages | 177 |
Release | 2018 |
Genre | Medical virology |
ISBN | 0198811713 |
Viruses are big news. From pandemics such as HIV, swine flu, and SARS, we are constantly being bombarded with information about new lethal infections. In this Very Short Introduction, Dorothy Crawford demonstrates from their discovery and the unravelling of their intricate structures, how clever these entities really are.