All That Matters

Series · 20

books · 2012-2016

By Alan Haworth, Camilla Ween, Steven Beller, and more

Books in series

Archaeology

All That Matters

2014

When did archaeology begin? Who were the first antiquarians in early modern Europe? How did archaeology free human history from biblical creationism? How did archaeology become a pseudo-scientific discipline? Who built the first museum? The author starts by dealing with the processes and techniques used by archaeologists, in the past and today. He then uses the results of famous archaeological studies both to illustrate the power of archaeology, and to show specifically what archaeology has taught us about ancient, and surprisingly recent, history. In an exciting final chapter, Manley wonders how archaeology may adapt over time, exploring how the archaeologists of the future may examine our own era.

Astronomy

All That Matters

2014

With a blend of exciting discoveries and important scientific theory, this innovative and readable introduction to astronomy is ideal for anyone who wants to understand what we know about the universe, and how we know it. Each chapter starts with details of a method of jow astronomers over time have observed the world, and then uses this as a springboard to discuss what they discovered, and why this was important for understanding the cosmos. The last chapter, on dark matter, also focuses on the many things we don't yet know - reminding us that astronomy, like this book, is a fast-paced and fascinating subject.

Buddhism

All That Matters

2013

In All That Matters, Dr Engelmajer gives us a glimpse of what being a Buddhist in today's world entails, and how this links back to the historical and doctrinal development of the many Buddhist traditions extant today. The narrative follows the religious lives of four fictional characters, representative of four Buddhist traditions (Theravada, Chinese Pure Land, Japanese Zen and Tibetan) in their daily lives, describing what being a Buddhist today religious and devotional practices, dietary requirements, ethical principles, and religious and philosophical beliefs. Grounded in the latest scholarship, this book offers a live picture of Buddhism as it a variety of practices and beliefs that stem from common doctrines and have developed in many ways across time and space. This accessible and concise book will appeal to both students and general readers, giving a fascinating introduction book will appeal to both students and general readers, giving a fascinating introduction.

#11

Darwin

2015

Charles Darwin's name is among the most recognised in the world, and more than 100 years after his death his books are still best-sellers; there are more than ten modern editions of the most famous, On the Origin of Species, currently available. His theories of descent with modification and of sexual selection are among the most influential ever formulated, but those theories, which imply the interconnectedness not just of humans and animals but of every living thing, are often imperfectly understood, or even willfully misrepresented, and Darwin himself is reduced to a two-dimensional character, a cipher deployed in the guerilla warfare between fundamentalist religion and hard line atheism. How many people know that Darwin was famous among his family and friends for his sense of fun? All That Matters puts his life, personality, and the full breadth and significance of his work in context, with greater emphasis on his post- Origin work. It is perfect for those who want to gain a sound grasp of the subject quickly, and those looking for a good entry-level book as a starting point for further study.

#12

Death

All That Matters

2016

Throughout history, and in many parts of the world today, Death was seen as a beginning rather than an end. As Professor Tony Walter demonstrates in this introduction to Death, the only book of its kind, even within the same street many people can have many different approaches to death. Professor Walter comes mainly from a sociological/anthropological/historical perspective, supplemented by physiological information and illustrative quotes, examples and photographs from literature, art and music. In doing so he is able to provide a unique map of the culture of death - the normative as well as the physical terrain we have to navigate before and after death.

#13

Democracy

All That Matters

2012

Dive into one of the world's most powerful and widespread political systems All That Matters spells out the basic characteristics of modern-day democracy, its origins, its history, its current practice and problems, and its potential future. It addresses the Arab Spring and political changes in Burma and elsewhere, as well as the crisis of alienation and stagnation in the more established democracies like in the United States and in Europe.

#14

Emotion

All That Matters

2013

Despite decades of debate, psychologists are still undecided on what exactly emotion is. This book will help students and general readers to explore emotion and reach their own conclusions. The fascinating, and sometimes controversial, topics covered include what emotions actually are, how they are portrayed and recognised, why negative emotions arise and how they can be managed, whether emotion can be effectively faked or hidden, and how emotions affect decision-making. A final chapter, 'The route to happiness', discusses the most sought-after emotion of all, and asks how the research around emotion can be applied practically.

#15

Energy

2012

Energy is probably the defining topic of our age. Uncertainty over the long-term availability of some hydrocarbons and nuclear fuels are increasingly prompting volatility in energy prices on world markets. Meanwhile, no serious scientist doubts that the unabated atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide associated with traditional forms of energy use are (at very least) exacerbating natural variations in climate in undesirable ways. For either reason or both, few commentators of any stature argue that "do nothing" is a credible option in the world of energy management. The technical challenges are legion; yet energy is just as much a socio-economic issue. Surprisingly, there are no authoritative books giving an overall introduction to energy for general readers, students, engineers, geographers or architects, offering adequate coverage of the scientific, engineering, environmental, social and economic dimensions in a single, reasonably-sized and easily-readable volume. The book proposed here seeks to fill that gap. All That Matters about energy. All That Matters books are a fast way to get right to the heart of key issues.

#18

Future

All That Matters

2013

In All That Matters, Ziauddin Sardar shows that thinking and speculating about the future has always been a part of human history, but exploring the futures in a systematic and scientific way is a recent phenomenon. What is known variously as 'futures studies', 'futurology' or 'foresight' only emerged as a discipline during the last few decades. The study of the future, however, is not only about 'predicting' or 'forecasting' the future, which is always a perilous exercise. It is also about appreciating the potentials and possibilities, as well as risks and threats, lurking over the horizon. It can enable us both to avoid the dangers as well as shape a viable and desirable future. This book explores the exciting field of futures studies, and shows how knowledge of the future is acquired and put into practice. We examine various methods for studying the future, with the emphasis not so much on predicting specific events but on delineating alternative paths to the future. We look at some celebrated readings of the future as well as case studies where exploration of the future has been used to shape policy and planning in businesses and communities, international organizations and regional institutions, and interest and lobby groups. Finally, the book suggests why and how in an increasingly complex, uncertain and diverse world, the study of the future can help people recover their agency and help them to create the world in which they wish to live.

#19

Future Cities

All That Matters

2013

In Future All that Matters Camilla Ween will outline the challenges of meeting the anticipated growth of world cities over the next few decades. By 2030 it is predicted that between 80-90 % of the world's population will be living in cities, in several countries this will be 100%; Singapore is already classified as having a 100% urban population. There will be many cities with populations of over 20 million. The infrastructure required to support these cities will be a massive challenge for city planners and governments. Never in the history of civilisation has the need to deliver so much been so urgent - and with dwindling world resources. Tackling the challenges will be further complicated by pressure to develop solutions that are sustainable and include climate change mitigation measures. Some advocate geo-engineering - the large-scale engineering and manipulation of the world's environment e.g. ocean fertilisation to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, as the answer to tackling climate change. Others see this as a doomsday scenario and believe the solution lies in behaviour adaptation, changing the way we live and making do with less. Despite the difficulties, the book will chart how some cities are already tackling the problems, policies that are emerging to meet these challenges and will highlight innovations that are currently being explored.

#20

Free Speech

All That Matters

2016

What is free speech?; Why does it matter? These are pressing questions. In this book, Alan Haworth outlines and analyses the main arguments philosophers have advanced over the centuries, in an attempt to answer them clearly. He emphasises the strengths but also the weaknesses of those arguments, demonstrating that an understanding of both is essential if one is to to grasp the true nature and value of free speech. The contemporary debate over free speech tends to be clouded by rhetoric. Against that, Haworth stands back and takes a cool look at the issues. This book comes down on the side of clarity. It is an essential primer on an important topic.

#21

God

All That Matters

2012

'Mark Vernon is, quite simply, one of the few writers in England today who really understands the impulse to religious belief and how a faithless age can respond. There are few others I trust to bring such intelligence and sympathy to these issues.' - Guardian on 'The Big Questions: God'

#27

Love

All That Matters

2013

All That Matters argues that the modern view on love has been distorted by a fixation on romantic love that has depleted our resources for living through the darker sides of love, whereas in fact there are several ways in which humans give and experience love over the course of their lives and it is best to have access to them all. Vernon draws on science, psychology, philosophy and literature, to examine eight different kinds of love, each associated with a phase of human development. From infant narcissism and the emergence of eros, through puberty and the rush of romantic love, to the end of life and the love of God, this is a beguiling tour of the most mysterious force of all. This accessible and readable book will appeal to both students and general readers, giving a fascinating introduction to the psychology and philosophy of love - and what matters most about it.

#29

The Meaning of Life

2015

What could be more central to philosophy than the meaning of life? Perfectly respectable philosophical discussions can look ridiculous compared to questions about the point and purpose of life. Until we have an answer to the ultimate question, both philosophical debates and those ordinary questions that make up everyday life, are just games. This book will help you make sense of the confusion. Starting by questioning the question and looking at the views of great philosophers on life's meaning, James Garvey embarks on a thrilling journey through Augustinian belief in God's Plan, other, non-Western gods and religious answers, absurdity, nihilism, optimistic naturalism, what science has to say, the meaning of death, and finally, immortality. You may not find the answer, but at least by the end you'll have a better understanding of the question.

#37

The Renaissance

All That Matters

2014

Was the Renaissance just a period of extraordinary art and architecture? The All That Matters examines the major developments of the Renaissance era from its beginnings in Italian city/states to later cultural, political, and scientific achievements in France, Spain, England, and Germany. By examining original sources and introducing readers to new research and important debates, this accessible book provides an exciting introduction to the Renaissance age. This book attempts to answer two questions. Firstly, what are the essential features of the Renaissance movement that gradually transformed Europe in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries? Secondly, how many of these cultural, artistic, and intellectual transformations continue to influence modern societies today? The Renaissance began as a renewal of classical Greek and Roman culture that originated in fourteenth-century Italy, gradually spread throughout Europe, and continues to influence Western societies up to the present. The All That Matters introduces the brilliant writers and cultural innovators of the Renaissance, who transformed the West through their scholarly, artistic, and scientific activities, including Francesco Petrarch, Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli, Thomas More, and Galileo Galilee. Throughout the Renaissance, intriguing visionaries revived the study of literature, reformed medieval universities, invigorated the arts, enhanced the economy, explored new geographic worlds, and invented machines and devices such as the printing press, the telescope, firearms, and clocks.

#40

Sexuality

All That Matters

2013

"Sexuality" may be an eighteenth-century coinage, but as this new study by award-winning historian Louise Foxcroft shows, it has fascinated and frightened us for millennia. From proscription to prescription, and from humour to anxiety, All That Matters explores the vast sex-scape of experience and response over time. Looking at authorised and unauthorised works on sexual knowledge, from scientific, religious, medical, philosophical and political ideas, to letters, diaries, court cases and medical histories, it reveals popular and orthodox assumptions as well as individual experiences, and reminds us of just how complex we really are. This accessible book will appeal both to students and general readers, giving a compelling introduction to sexuality - and to what matters most about it.

#42

Shakespeare's Tragedies

All That Matters

2016

In Shakespeare's All That Matters, Michael Scott explores and explains the secrets that have made Shakespeare's tragedies so enduring that they continue to be performed, watched and studied by millions of people every year. Professor Scott concentrates on the four great tragedies - Hamlet, King Lear, Othello and Macbeth - and builds an argument based around Shakespeare's use of language to prompt the audience's imagination and thought. This original little book, and its companion volume, Shakespeare's Comedies, will help you understand each of the plays in the context of its oeuvre and the changing concept of Shakespearean tragedy across the centuries. Appealing to both students and general readers, this book gives a fascinating introduction to Shakespeare's tragedies - and what matters most about them.

#43

Space Exploration

All That Matters

2013

Amid a century devastated by war, space exploration was perhaps mankind's greatest achievement of the twentieth century. Yet remarkably, in a world where most technology progresses constantly, space exploration appears to have gone backwards. Man has not returned to the moon since 1972; the space shuttle programme has finished and not been replaced; much-vaunted promises of space tourism have not become realistic. In this remarkable book, David Ashford looks back at the story of space exploration, identifying the factors that were a driving force behind the eye-catching programmes of the cold war, and showing how now new driving forces are needed. Using his own extensive experience as a practitioner and researcher of space exploration, Ashford then outlines a new, realistic roadmap for achieving the new space age soon and at an affordable cost. This accessible and readable book will appeal both to students and general readers, giving a fascinating introduction to space exploration - and what matters most about it.

#44

Stress

All That Matters

2013

What is stress, how can we understand it, and how can we strip away the myths that surround it? Here a leading health psychologist presents a concise and accessible introduction to stress, explaining what produces it, why people vary in their response to stress, its short- and long-term effects, its relation to physiological illness and its flipside - the relaxation response. Part of the All That Matters series.

#47

Water - All That Matters

2012

The world's population is increasing; but its supply of water is not. Empires have grown and declined due to discovery and exhaustion of their water sources, and now the West is at last catching on to the fact that abundance of water can no longer be taken for granted. For the last fifty years, wars have been fought over oil; for the next fifty, they may be fought over water (in fact, some local wars already have been). Remarkably, this new book is the first to bring together the ecological, geographical, political and scientific aspects of water. Its author, Professor Paul Younger, is one of the UK's leading experts on water - a substance of which we consume 150 litres of a day, and in its bottled form are willing to pay more for than for petrol.

Authors

Steven Beller is a Visiting Scholar at George Washington University, Washington DC, and a former Research Fellow in History at Peterhouse College, Cambridge.

Michael Halvorson

Author · 2 books

Michael Halvorson has written more than 35 books, including the popular Microsoft Visual Basic 2010 Step by Step, Microsoft Visual Basic 2008 Step by Step, Microsoft Office XP Inside Out, and Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Professional Step by Step. A former Visual Basic localization manager at Microsoft, Michael is an associate professor at Pacific Lutheran University. His current work is in Visual Studio; he is also writing a book on the history of innovation in Western societies. [Source: O'Reilly Media author site]

Ziauddin Sardar has written or edited 45 books over a period of 30 years, many with his long-time co-author Merryl Wyn Davies. Recent titles include Balti Britain: a Journey Through the British Asian Experience (Granta, 2008); and How Do You Know: Reading Ziauddin Sardar on Islam, Science and Cultural Relations (Pluto, 2006). The first volume of his memoirs is Desperately Seeking Paradise: Journeys of a Sceptical Muslim (Granta, 2006). His recent television work includes a 90-minute documentary for the BBC in 2006 called 'Battle for Islam'. Sardar's online work includes a year-long blog on the Qur'an published in 2008 by The Guardian newspaper. Sardar is a Visiting Professor of Postcolonial Studies in the Department of Arts Policy and Management at City University London and is Editor of the forecasting and planning journal, Futures. He is also a member of the UK Commission on Equality and Human Rights. His journalism appears most often in The Guardian and The Observer, as well as the UK weekly magazine, New Statesman. In the 1980s, he was among the founders of Inquiry, a magazine of ideas and policy focusing on Muslim countries. His early career includes working as a science correspondent for Nature and New Scientist magazines and as a reporter for London Weekend Television.

(from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziauddin... )<< — *You can know more from his own site: http://www.ziauddinsardar.com/Biograp...

John Manley

Author · 1 books

John Manley is an archaeologist, historian and social anthropologist. He is best known for discovering a new Roman building near Bishburne Roman Palace in Chichester, and for advancing the theory that the Roman invasion of Britain landed in West Sussex rather than Kent.

Michael Scott is Professor of English and Theatre Studies and Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of Glyndwr University, Wrexham. He has taught Shakespeare for over 35 years and has also tutored A Level students, and for over ten years he worked as a Visiting Lecturer teaching Shakespeare with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has extensive experience also of teaching Shakespeare worldwide, including as Visiting Professor in English at Georgetown University. In Spring 2013 he conducted an extensive lecture tour on Shakespeare in China. Scott was the founding editor of the influential Text and Performance Series and The Critics Debate Series used extensively in school and university programmes, and he continues to work and lecture on Shakespeare for a variety of audiences both for education and the general public. source http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Louise Foxcroft read History at the University of Cambridge as a mature student in the early 1990s. In 2007 she published an academic title, The Making of Addiction: The ‘use and abuse’ of opium in nineteenth-century Britain (Ashgate), which developed the research of her PhD thesis. This was followed by her first general book, Hot Flushes, Cold Science: A History of the Modern Menopause (Granta, 2009) which ranked as Amazon’s No.1 History of Medicine title for some weeks. Broadly as Medical Historian, she has specialised in medical perceptions of the human body and at the way these are related to present day, personal, human experience - this makes for some really in-depth questions and analyses, not to mention the absurdities, of how we live our lives now. An occasional supervisor at the University of Cambridge, Louise Foxcroft has also written for The London Review of Books, The Guardian, New Humanist, Erotic Review, Daily Mail and The Times, and has been a guest on several BBC Radio programmes. As a Non-Alcoholic Trustee on the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous GB since 2006 she has been working on AA literature, and speaking at conferences and press events, both national and international.