This Very Short Introduction explores the science of sound and its nature, hearing and harmony. Considering sound we can't hear, the author also covers different sound worlds, as well as noise and its reduction.

Originally published as a World's classics paperback, 1996; reissued as an Oxford World's classics paperback, 1999; reissued 2008.

The Soviet Union: A Very Short Introduction blends political history with an investigation into the society and culture at the time. Stephen Lovell examines aspects of patriotism, political violence, poverty, and ideology; and provides answers to some of the big questions about the Soviet experience.

Amid the catastrophes of the twentieth century, the Spanish Civil War continues to exert a particular fascination. The Spanish Civil War: A Very Short Introduction provides a powerfully-written explanation of the war's complex origins and course, and explores its impact on a personal and an international scale.

This Very Short Introduction introduces the ways in which Spanish literature has been read, in and outside Spain, explaining misconceptions, outlining the insights of recent scholarship, and suggesting new readings. It explores the relationship between Spanish literature and modernity and issues of gender and sexuality.

A study of Spenser and nationhood that examines the poet's canon within the dual contexts of imperial aspiration and female 'regiment'. This book shows how the experience of writing from Ireland, intensified Spenser's sense of alienation from female sovereignty.

Benedict de Spinoza (1632-77) was at once the father of the Enlightenment and the last sad guardian of the medieval world, who attempted to reconcile the conflicting moral and intellectual demands of his epoch. This book presents an analysis of Spinoza's thought, and shows its relevance to the intellectual preoccupations in the modern times.

1968 witnessed a highly unusual sequence of popular rebellions worldwide. Gerd-Rainer Horn offers a fascinating re-assessment of these turbulent times, arguing that 1968 cannot be seen in isolation; it must be viewed in the context of a much larger period of experimentation and revolt.