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...

Combining theory, comparative politics, and international relations Introduction to Politics, provides a comprehensive introduction to the subject for first year undergraduate students. As the only introductory text to cover both comparative politics and international relations, it is the most authoritative and global introductory politics textbook on the market. Written by three experts in the field, this book takes a balanced approach to the subject, serving as a strong foundation for furth...

If you are studying EU law in the UK, please see the UK version of this textbook: EU Law: Text, Cases, and Materials UK Version, ISBN 9780198859840. Building on its unrivalled reputation as the definitive EU law textbook, this seventh edition continues to provide clear and insightful analysis of all aspects of European Union law. Drawing on their wealth of experience, Paul Craig and Gráinne de Búrca succeed in bringing together a unique mix of illuminating commentary and well-chosen ext...

What is art history? Why, how, and where did it originate, and how have its methods changed over time? The history of art has been written and rewritten since classical antiquity. Since the foundation of the modern discipline of art history in Germany in the late eighteenth century, debates about art and its histories have intensified. Historians, philosophers, psychologists, and anthropologists among others have changed our notions of what art history has been, is,and might be.

This antholog...

`It will be the biggest fiasco of the year - but I don't care a damn! It will be something nobody has ever done before, and I shall have said what I had to say.' As Joris -Karl Huysmans announced in 1884, Against Nature was fated to be a novel like no other. Resisting the models of classic nineteenth-century fiction, it focuses on the attempts of its anti-hero, the hypersensitive neurotic and aesthete, Des Esseintes, to escape Paris and the vulgarity of modern life. Holed up in his private mu...

A masterpiece of early Modernism, The Good Soldier tells the story of the unfolding relationships between two couples in the words of an archetypal 'unreliable narrator'. Its portrayal of the destruction of a civilized elite is a work of unforgettable power and literary skill, here accompanied by Ford's important essay 'On Impressionism'.

Public administration ensures the development and delivery of the essential public services required for sustaining modern civilization. Covering areas from public safety and social welfare to transportation and education, the services provided through the public sector are inextricably part of our daily lives. However, mandatory budgetary cuts in recent years have caused public administrators to radically re-think how they govern in the modern age.

In this Very Short Introduction Stella Theo...