Oxford University Press

This Very Short Introduction offers a powerfully-written explanation of the war's complex origins and course, and explores its impact on a personal and international scale. It also provides an ethical reflection on the war in the context of Europe's tumultuous twentieth century, highlighting why it has inspired some of the greatest writers of our time, and how it continues to resonate today in Britain, continental Europe, and beyond. Throughout the book, the focus is on the war as an arena of social change where ideas about culture were forged or resisted, and in which both Spaniards and non-Spaniards participated alike. These were conflicts that during the Second World War would stretch from Franco's regime, which envisaged itself as part of the Nazi new order, to Europe and beyond. Accordingly, this book examines Spanish participation in European resistance movements during World War II and also the ongoing civil war waged politically, economically, judicially and culturally inside Spain by Francoism after its military victory in 1939. History writing itself became a battleground and the book charts the Franco regime's attempt to appropriate the past.It also indicates its ultimate failure — as evident in new writings on the war and, above all, in the return of Republican memory now occurring in Spain during the opening years of the twenty-first century.

The Norman Conquest in 1066 was the last time England was successfully invaded, and was one of the most profound turning points in English history, cataclysmically transforming a disparate collection of small nations into a European state. But what actually happened? How was the invasion viewed by those who witnessed it? And how has its legacy been seen by generations since? This fascinating Very Short Introduction reveals how dramatically English life was changed, from its language to its law, and focuses on the differing ways the conquest has been viewed by historians and in folklore ever since.

What would alien visitors in the far future, piecing together the history of earth, find of our brief reign? What clues will we leave? What fossils? Just as we have gained knowledge of the past, of ancient climates and the activities of creatures long dead, so too might they decode the rocks. The Earth After Us takes a novel approach to show how geologists unravel the information in the rocks. As the alien scientists start investigating the strata, what story will they tell of us? What kind of fossils will humans leave behind? What will happen to cities, cars, and plastic cups? How thick a layer will the 'human stratum' be? And will it be obvious which species dominated the planet?

Once a sleeping giant, China today is the world's fastest growing economy — the leading manufacturer of cell phones, laptop computers, and digital cameras — a dramatic turn-around that alarms many Westerners. But in China: Fragile Superpower, Susan L. Shirk opens up the black box of Chinese politics and finds that the real danger lies elsewhere — not in China's astonishing growth, but in the deep insecurity of its leaders. China's leaders face a troubling paradox: the more developed and prosperous the country becomes, the more insecure and threatened they feel. Shirk, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State responsible for China, knows many of today's Chinese rulers personally and has studied them for three decades. She offers invaluable insight into how they think — and what they fear. In this revealing book, readers see the world through the eyes of men like President Hu Jintao and former President Jiang Zemin. We discover a fragile communist regime desperate to survive in a society turned upside down by miraculous economic growth and a stunning new openness to the greater world.Indeed, ever since the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square and the fall of communism in the Soviet Union, Chinese leaders have been haunted by the fear that their days in power are numbered. Theirs is a regime afraid of its own citizens, and this fear motivates many of their decisions when dealing with the U.S. and other foreign nations. In particular, the fervent nationalism of the Chinese people, combined with their passionate resentment of Japan and attachment to Taiwan, have made relations with these two regions a minefield. It is here, Shirk concludes, in the tangled interactions between Japan, Taiwan, China, and the United States, that the greatest danger lies. Shirk argues that rising powers such as China tend to provoke wars in large part because other countries mishandle them. Unless we understand China's brittle internal politics and the fears that motivate its leaders, we face the very real possibility of avoidable conflict with China. This book provides that understanding.

Chris Smith's 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music tells the fascinating stories behind the most groundbreaking, influential, and often controversial albums ever recorded, ranging from The Anthology of American Folk Music (1952) to Elephant (2003) by The White Stripes. Organized chronologically to capture the flow of culture from one album to the next, this volume illuminates how these classic recordings reflected — and sometimes changed — the political, social, and economic culture of their eras. Among the featured albums are releases from the hard-blues explosion of the '60s, including Robert Johnson's King of the Delta Blues Singers, a landmark collection whose songs were later covered by the likes of Cream, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones. Punk made its mark in the '70s with Patti Smith's Horses and the Clash's London Calling. In the '80s Michael Jackson's blockbuster LP, Thriller, not only topped the charts, it became the best-selling record of all time. Diversity defined the '90s, with the most influential albums ranging from Garth Brooks' No Fences, which made country one of the hottest musical genres of the decade, to Dr. Dre's debut, The Chronic, a multi-platinum smash hit that brought West Coast hip hop into the mainstream. For each album, the book lists the basic publication information, including release date, label, and producer. More important, Chris Smith sheds light on the history of these albums, revealing the inspiration behind their creation, and why they continue to stand the test of time. Selected on the basis of their popular appeal and influence on later genres, the albums included represent a wide variety of genres, such as blues, jazz, rock, reggae, rockabilly, folk, soul, hip-hop, and country. A timeline of important events, a selected bibliography for further reading, and an appendix of albums that almost made the cut round out this volume, making it a gold mine of information for everyone who loves popular music.

Today between forty and sixty nations, home to more than one billion people, have either collapsed or are teetering on the brink of failure. The world's worst problems — terrorism, drugs and human trafficking, absolute poverty, ethnic conflict, disease, genocide — originate in such states, and the international community has devoted billions of dollars to solving the problem. Yet by and large the effort has not succeeded. Ashraf Ghani and Clare Lockhart have taken an active part in the effort to save failed states for many years, serving as World Bank officials, as advisers to the UN, and as high-level participants in the new government of Afghanistan. In Fixing Failed States, they describe the issue — vividly and convincingly — offering an on-the-ground picture of why past efforts have not worked and advancing a groundbreaking new solution to this most pressing of global crises. For the paperback edition, they have added a new preface that addresses the continuing crisis in light of ongoing governance problems in weak states like Afghanistan and the global financial recession. As they explain, many of these countries already have the resources they need, if only we knew how to connect them to global knowledge and put them to work in the right way. Their state-building strategy, which assigns responsibility equally among the international community, national leaders, and citizens, maps out a clear path to political and economic stability. The authors provide a practical framework for achieving these ends, supporting their case with first-hand examples of struggling territories such as Afghanistan, Sudan, Kosovo and Nepal as well as the world's success stories — Singapore, Ireland, and even the American South.

Completely updated to include all the latest vocabulary, this fourth edition of the Concise Oxford Spanish Dictionary contains coverage of over 175,000 words and phrases, and 240,000 translations. It includes a comphrensive correspondence guide with sample letters, emails, and CVs, plus fun and informative cultural notes on life and living in the Spanish-speaking world. This new edition also features new sections on Spanish as used around the world, false friends and Spanglish, as well as an entirely new internet section helping with everyday online activities from booking tickets to banking online. The Concise Oxford Spanish Dictionary is easy to use, with a clear layout featuring a two-colour text design and printed thumb tabs for quick reference.

Whether your child is learning English or Arabic, Oxford First Arabic Words gives your child a head start in learning another language by taking a picture-book journey through a day, with familiar settings, everyday things, and cute little dinosaurs. There is a bird's eye view of getting ready for school in the morning, the journey to school, inside the classroom, a birthday party, and even a trip to the seaside. As a first picture word book, this is perfect for children and their language teacher, or native speaker, to share together picking out the familiar items, playing the matching game, recognizing numbers, shapes and time words. It is ideal for supporting the language skills children are learning in school, language clubs, and for those learning English as a 2nd language. Over 400 Arabic words and their English translations are given next to their illustrations, on every page. There is also an expertly-levelled supplementary section at the back — a picture/word matching game, counting the ladybirds up to twenty, shapes, opposites, weather, time, and a comprehensive index. The David Melling (The Kiss that Missed, Fidget and Quilly) illustrations make this an adorable first bilingual word book.

A thematic dictionary of computer terms and jargon with humorous full colour illustrations throughout.

This marvellous book covers a wide range of topics, from different breeds of horse, horse history and how to look after your horse. Packed with facts and illustrations this is a wonderful introduction to the animal world for young readers. For real horse enthusiasts this book also suggests websites and places to visit to find out even more! Other titles in this series: Big Cats, Spiders, Frogs and Toads, Bees, Elephants, Wolves, Snakes, Sharks, Rats, Whales, Crocodiles, Dinosaurs and Dogs.

Will Shakespeare dreamed of becoming an actor and a playwright. At nineteen he left his home town of Stratford and headed for London, following his dream. He became an actor, part owner of the Globe theatre — and the greatest playwright of all time. 400 years on, his plays are even more popular. They are performed in theatres all over the world. Other titles in the series: Amelia Earhart, Alexander the Great, Captain Cook, Cleopatra, Eric the Red Galileo, Gandhi, Hans Christian Andersen, Henry Ford, Roald Dahl and Thomas Edison.

Mohandas Gandhi grew up in India at a time when it was ruled by a foreign power — Britain. Gandhi fought against the injustice of British rule. He led peaceful marches and protests. Many times he was imprisoned for his beliefs. But through his leadership, Britain was finally forced to hand over power. Gandhi became the leader of India, and 'father of his people'. Other titles in the series: Amelia Earhart, Alexander the Great, Captain Cook, Cleopatra, Eric the Red Galileo, Hans Christian Andersen, Henry Ford, Roald Dahl, Thomas Edison and William Shakespeare.

Galileo's revolutionary scientific work brought him into conflict with the authorities of his time, but earned him an honoured place in the history books. He swept away old notions of the universe by observing the skies through a telescope and confirming that the Earth and planets travel round the Sun. Other titles in the series: Amelia Earhart, Alexander the Great, Captain Cook, Cleopatra, Eric the Red, Gandhi, Hans Christian Andersen, Henry Ford, Roald Dahl, Thomas Edison and William Shakespeare.

The Oxford Revision Guides series builds on the fact that pictures are easier to memorize than words. Each topic is summarized on a single page using annotated diagrams and concise notes with a full index for easy reference. Expert authors have taken the content of the AS and A Level specifications and presented them in a refreshingly clear and concise format. Simple illustrations are used to present information in a particularly clear and memorable way.

With over 11,000 authoritative and up-to-date entries, this best-selling dictionary covers all branches of psychology, including psychoanalysis, psychiatry, criminology, neuroscience, and statistics. It features comprehensive coverage of key areas, for example, cognition, sensation and perception, emotion and motivation, learning and skills, language, mental disorder, and research methods. Entries provide clear and concise definitions, word origins and derivations, and they are extensively cross-referenced for ease of use. In addition, over 80 illustrations complement the text. Detailed appendices follow the A-Z dictionary and include a list of 800 commonly used abbreviations and symbols, and a list of phobias and phobic stimuli with full definitions. Now containing an appendix of recommended web links, which are accessed and kept up to date via the Dictionary of Psychology website, this edition is loaded with more information than any other dictionary of its kind. A Dictionary of Psychology is an invaluable work of reference for students and teachers of psychology and related disciplines, professionals, and is ideally suited to anyone with an interest in the workings of the mind.

Designed to follow the latest CIE IGCSE syllabus, this revision guide will provide revision material which is presented in a clear, concise, but not too condensed format, appropriate for international students aged 14-16. They may be used for study and homework throughout the year but are predominantly intended as a student revision purchase. Suitable for all students, it will stretch those of a lower ability while challenging and providing a wealth of exam practice for students of higher ability. We provide everything needed to ensure exam success including questions and answers, revision and assessment advice. Vocabulary-based activities such as crossword puzzles will be included to support students whose first language is not English.

100% new. New Practical English video, featuring authentic interviews with real people. Shorter syllabus for Beginner-level students.

One night, Goat is woken by a noise downstairs. His immediate thought is that there must be burglars in the house. He doesn't know what to do, but he knows that Donkey will, so he tiptoes very quietly to Donkey's room. But when Goat discovers that Donkey's bed is empty, he comes to the conclusion that Donkey must have been stolen! Full of fear and trepidation, Goat grabs Donkey's toy Rabbity (to brandish at the burglars), goes downstairs, and bursts bravely into the kitchen... only to find that the noise is in fact coming from Donkey who has gone downstairs to make himself a sandwich! Relieved but overwrought, Goat is in need of some comfort and a midnight feast with Donkey is just the thing to soothe his shattered nerves! A delightful duo — Goat and Donkey are ready to entertain children and parents everywhere.

Hare is always raring to go. He races through the day while the ever-patient Tortoise does his best to keep up. Hare, it certainly seems to Tortoise, has boundless energy. So Tortoise has plans for when it is time for Hare to go to bed — a well-deserved rest with a cup of chamomile tea! And, for the first time in the day, it is Tortoise who is in a hurry. He reads speedily, with one eye on his cuppa. But Hare has other ideas. As far as he is concerned, when it's time for his bedtime story from Tortoise, he is no longer in a hurry. In fact he wants to take all the time in the world and linger over every picture. After all, some things just shouldn't be rushed! Toddlers will love this simple story, with its cosy farmland setting and lovable characters. And while adults are reading a story that highlights the differences between the energetic and impetuous Hare and the rather more circumspect Tortoise, they will no doubt smile as they recognise the parallels with their own experiences of childcare!

Button has had a busy day playing with his older sisters and now it's time for Mummy and Daddy to put him to bed. Just as they pad quietly away, Button remembers the fallen log he clambered over during the afternoon. It looked a bit like a big bear asleep in the grass and now Button is worried that the tree-bear might lumber into his dreams and turn them into scary ones. He calls out and Daddy comes back to comfort Button. Daddy always knows what to do in these situations-he tells Button the lovely, familiar story of the day he was born. Daddy remembers fondly all the happy details of the day that Button came into the world and these always do just the trick in helping Button to forget about anything that might be making him anxious at bedtime. The illustrations from Layn Marlow are beautiful-Button is the most adorable chocolate-brown bear cub you are ever likely to meet-and the softness of the illustrations perfectly captures the mood of this gentle bedtime story.

At school, Roald Dahl looked forward most to those special days when the local chocolate company sent every pupil a large box of chocolate bars for testing. Years later he wrote a children's book inspired by the chocolate testing. It was one of the first of a string of incredibly funny, rude and amazing stories, which millions of children have read and enjoyed.

'Twinkle twinkle chocolate bar Your dad drives a rusty car Press the starter Pull the choke Off he goes in a cloud of smoke'. Anon Here is a collection of poems and rhymes for very young children. With themes ranging from pets, magic and weather to favourite foods, families and toys, there are poems for every occasion. And the mix of cautionary verse, nonsense rhymes, lullabies, lyrical poems and comic verse adds up to an anthology to suit all moods and moments. There are contributions from Michael Rosen, Wendy Cope, Charles Causley, Valerie Bloom, Brian Moses, Spike Milligan, Jack Prelutsky and many, many more. Each poem is accompanied by full colour artwork — from a diverse range of illustrators including Tony Ross, Nick Sharratt, Ian Beck, Brian Wildsmith and Korky Paul.

Winnie's sisters have given her a flying carpet but Winnie is struggling to find something nice to say about it in her thank-you letter as the carpet has been more than a little wayward. Winnie decides to give the carpet one last chance but then disaster strikes. The carpet swoops off with poor Wilbur as its unwilling passenger. Winnie tries to catch it but the carpet is too fast for her and it heads straight for a funfair where it subjects Wilbur to a string of crazy rides. Winnie has to resort to magic to stop the carpet in its tracks and rescue her beloved moggy. Then she takes Wilbur home and, ever the resourceful witch, she has an idea for a wonderful way to enjoy the carpet in the safety of her own garden. This story is full of noisy antics: a collision with a rubbish truck, a splash-down into a pond, and a sequence of exciting rides at the funfair are just some of the wonderful sound-effect additions to the narration of Winnie's Flying Carpet on the accompanying audio CD.

What is 'nothing'? What remains when you take all the matter away? Can empty space — a void — exist? This Very Short Introduction explores the science and the history of the elusive void: from Aristotle who insisted that the vacuum was impossible, via the theories of Newton and Einstein, to our very latest discoveries and why they can tell us extraordinary things about the cosmos. Frank Close tells the story of how scientists have explored the elusive void, and the rich discoveries that they have made there. He takes the reader on a lively and accessible history through ancient ideas and cultural superstitions to the frontiers of current research. He describes how scientists discovered that the vacuum is filled with fields; how Newton, Mach, and Einstein grappled with the nature of space and time; and how the mysterious 'aether' that was long ago supposed to permeate the void may now be making a comeback with the latest research into the 'Higgs field'. We now know that the vacuum is far from being empty — it seethes with virtual particles and antiparticles that erupt spontaneously into being, and it also may contain hidden dimensions that we were previously unaware of. These new discoveries may provide answers to some of cosmology's most fundamental questions: what lies outside the universe, and, if there was once nothing, then how did the universe begin?