A comprehensive and authoritative introduction to China's political history, contemporary political system, and key policy areas, such as the environment, population management, and public health. Politics in China is an authoritative introduction to how the world's second most populous nation and rapidly rising global power is governed today. Written by leading China scholars, each chapter offers an accessible overview of a key topic in Chinese politics.

The opening section provides readers ...

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, InspiringChina is a country of huge economic influence, with ambitions to alter the balance of power between East and West. At the same time, many of its citizens live in poverty, while others occupy futuristic cities with advanced surveillance systems. Modern China: A Very Short Introduction by Rana Mitter offers an integrated picture of Chinese society, culture, economics, politics, and art.

The author addresses China's current international statu...

A Midsummer Night's Dream is perhaps the best loved of Shakepeare's plays. It brings together aristocrats, workers, and fairies in a wood outside Athens, and from there the enchantment begins. Simple and engaging on the surface, it is none the less a highly original and sophisticated work, remarkable for both its literary and its theatrical mastery.

It is one of the very few of Shakespeare's plays which do not draw on narrative sources, which suggests that it reflects his deepest imaginative ...

Catherine Sloper is heiress to a fortune and is easily overwhelmed by the attentions of a handsome but penniless suitor. Her clever father is implacably opposed to the match, and the scene for a classic confrontation is set. This new edition of James's most enduringly popular work offers more information than any previous edition.

Why are some countries rich and others poor? In 1500, the income differences were small, but they have grown dramatically since Columbus reached America. Since then, the interplay between geography, globalization, technological change, and economic policy has determined the wealth and poverty of nations. The industrial revolution was Britain's path breaking response to the challenge of globalization.

Western Europe and North America joined Britain to form a club ofrich nations by pursuing fou...

It is not only in our dark hours that scepticism, relativism, hypocrisy, and nihilism dog ethics. Whether it is a matter of giving to charity, or sticking to duty, or insisting on our rights, we can be confused, or be paralysed by the fear that our principles are groundless. Many are afraid that in a Godless world science has unmasked us as creatures fated by our genes to be selfish and tribalistic, or competitive and aggressive.

Simon Blackburn, author of thebest-selling Think, structures th...

One of the most spectacular successes of the flourishing literary marketplace of eighteenth-century London, Pamela also marked a defining moment in the emergence of the modern novel. In the words of one contemporary, it divided the world "into two different Parties, Pamelists and Anti-pamelists," even eclipsing the sensational factional politics of the day. Preached for its morality, and denounced as pornography in disguise, it vividly describes a young servant's long resistance to the attemp...

Management Consultancy provides a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the consulting industry. The text uses theory as a basis for critical discussion, ensuring students fully understand the principal ideas behind consulting, as well the limitations. The authors' engaging and accessible writing style is combined with a wealth of real-world practical examples, which place management consultancy theory into the context of the business environment.

The book's strong critical perspective...

In this Very Short Introduction Linda Woodhead explores the cultural and institutional dimensions of Christianity and its course over two millennia, including its geographical spread and struggles with modernity. This new edition is a candid portrait of Christianity's past and present, and its importance in the twenty-first century.

With unparalleled empirical material, this is the most comprehensive introduction to comparative politics written by the leading experts in the field who bring together a diverse and informed international perspective on comparative politics. Six new authors join the team for the sixth edition, bringing fresh ideas and insights to the comparative analysis the book provides. The new edition has been brought fully up to date with coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, ...