Society & Culture

Psychology for a Better World is for people who believe it is worth trying to make a world in which both our species and the ecological systems we are part of can flourish.
The book is based on the latest research in psychology and is jam-packed with action strategies.It offers new ways to think about how people interact in social settings, why we are tempted to stick with what we know, and how the same characteristics that currently keep us hooked into unsustainable practices can be used to move us forward.
The final c... read more

Every week thousands of people advertise for love either in newspapers, magazines or online. But if you think this is a modern phenomenon, think again - the ads have been running for over three hundred years. This title presents a history of sex, marriage and society over three centuries.

These are interesting essays by one of Australasia’s leading media and social science intellectuals. ‘Culture’ is often seen as somehow elevated above daily life (set in a rarefied realm) or set apart from it (e.g. the anthropological study of cultures other than our own). But for contemporary sociologists and media theorists, culture is better seen as the matter-of-fact practice and taken-for-granted nature of everyday life. Culture is inherent to how the world is made to mean, how knowledge is produced andhow so... read more

Today we are urged from all sides to slim down and shape up, to shed a few pounds or lose life-threatening stones. This title tells the epic story of our complicated relationship with food, the fashions and fads of body shape, and how cultural beliefs and social norms have changed over time.

'Frank, enraging and captivating.' The New Yorker Australian writer Geraldine Brooks is now known internationally for her bestselling novels, but as a foreign correspondent Geraldine spent six years covering the Middle East. And when her poised and sophisticated assistant at the Cairo bureau of the "Wall Street Journal" suddenly 'adopted the uniform of a Muslim fundamentalist', Geraldine Brooks set out to discover the truth about women and Islam. Sometimes adopting a chador as camouflage, she was granted meetings (and often astonis... read more

In this timely and important book, new in paperback, Tariq Ali is lucid, eloquent, literary and painfully honest as he dissects both Islamic and Western fundamentalism.

New, practical paperback edition of the landmark design manifesto from the UK's favourite design guru. In this inspirational yet also practical paperback Kevin explores all areas of domestic living, from materialism to sustainability, craftsmanship to comfort. Kevin's beautifully written text brings insight and understanding to enjoying life in the 21st century, but crucially he offers detailed, helpful and incisive advice on design, construction and style. Kevin addresses very real and solvable domestic issues: What is the perfe... read more

Why do we mistrust people more in the UK than in Japan? Why do Americans have higher rates of teenage pregnancy than the French? What makes the Swedish thinner than the Greeks? The answer: inequality. This groundbreaking book, based on years of research, provides hard evidence to show: how almost everything - from life expectancy to depression levels, violence to illiteracy - is affected not by how wealthy a society is, but how equal it is; that societies with a bigger gap between rich and poor are bad for everyone in them - includ... read more

How do we understand "Glamour"? Has it empowered women or turned them into objects? Once associated with modernity and the cutting edge, is it entirely bound up with nostalgia and tradition? This unique and fascinating book tells the story of glamour. It explores the changing meanings of the word, its relationship to femininity and fashion, and its place in twentieth century social history. Using a rich variety of sources - from women's magazines and film to social surveys and life histories - Carol Dyhouse examines with wit and i... read more

An intriguing and enlightening look at life and love through the eyes of the French woman

From chauvinism to chiliasm, from epicureanism to existentialism, and from nationalism to nominalism, we live in a wilderness of dogmas and doctrines, creeds and credos. But what in heaven's name do all these -isms mean? Just what was it that made heresies such as Arianism and Pelagianism so heretical? What's the difference between an anarchist and an anarcho-syndicalist, a Platonist and a Neo-Platonist? And how modern can Modernism really be if all the famous modernists are dead?

Is your brain ready for a thorough philosophical health check? Really, it won't hurt a bit...Is what you believe coherent and consistent? Or is it a jumble of contradictions? If you could design yourself a God, what would He (or She, or It) be like? Can you spot the logical flaw in an argument (even if it's hiding from you)? And how will you fare on the tricky terrain of ethics when your taboos are under the spotlight?If all this causes your brain to overheat, there is a philosophy general knowledge quiz to round off with. Do You T... read more

There are 28 million people infected with the HIV virus in Africa. Why should we care? Here, in 28 powerful, unforgettable stories, are 28 reasons why. From Nelson Mandela's decision to go public about the cause of his son's death, to the miraculous outcome of a Tutsi woman's horrific ordeal at the hands of Hutu soldiers, and the priests, doctors and aid workers determined to help the suffering, here we meet 28 individuals whose lives have been affected by the disease. Taking these personal experiences as starting points, Nolen'... read more

"Stepping Out" provides a stunning insight into the world of shoes. It traces the changes that have occurred both in manufacturing and design techniques, as well as considering the changing styles and fashions. This fascinating book, now available in a new edition, looks at the development of the shoe from the early 1700's. Virtually every conceivable style of footwear is examined and put into context in this book. From the beautifully crafted shoes of brocaded silk and embroidered linen of the early eighteenth century to the wacky... read more

What Seabiscuit was to the early years of modern racing, this book is to the birth of modern golf - a classic, highly inspirational story about genuine heroes, national pride and the enduring friendship between America and Great Britain. This fascinating narrative chronicles the birth of the modern game of golf, told through the story of Harry Vardon and Francis Ouimet. These men, in pursuit of their passion for a sport that had captivated them since childhood, lifted themselves out of their lives of common poverty and broke dow... read more

An unflinching dissection of the mind of America after 9/11 - and of a barely acknowledged society-wide drama shot through with baffling contradications.

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There are few aspects of human existence to which Leunig has not turned his renaissance mind, ranging from the sublime to the seemingly ridiculous. In even the smallest things, he sees the larger key. No matter how serious or confronting the topic, he finds the funny side. The uplifting side. The side you didn't even realise was there. First published 2008.

Have you ever wondered how French women live life on their own terms? They seem to have conquered the modern world, with all its pressures and conflicting signals, while many of us elsewhere are struggling to balance love, sex, work and family. What French Women Know about Love, Sex and Other Matters of Heart and Mind, by Debra Ollivier, debunks long-standing myths about French women, and lets us in on the ways they have learned to take life as they want to live it. Going beyond the cliches of Gallic glamour, Ollivier looks at the ... read more

For more than a century, from 1900 to 2006, campaigns of nonviolent resistance were more than twice as effective as their violent counterparts in achieving their stated goals. By attracting impressive support from citizens, whose activism takes the form of protests, boycotts, civil disobedience, and other forms of nonviolent noncooperation, these efforts help separate regimes from their main sources of power and produce remarkable results, even in Iran, Burma, the Philippines, and the Palestinian Territories. Combining statistical... read more