What is capitalism? Is capitalism the same everywhere? Is there an alternative? The word 'capitalism' is one that is heard and used frequently, but what is capitalism really all about, and what does it mean? The book begins by addressing basic issues such as 'what is capital?' before discussing the history and development of capitalism through three detailed and absorbing case studies ranging from the tulipomania of seventeenth-century Holland to the recent Enron crisis in America. Fulcher addresses important present day issues, such as New Labour's relationship with capitalism, the significance of global capitalism, and distinctive national models of capitalism. He also explores whether capital has escaped the nation-state by going global, emphasizing that globalizing processes are not new. He discusses the crisis tendencies of capitalism, such as the Southeast Asian banking crisis, the collapse of the Russian economy, and the 1997-1998 global financial crisis, and asks whether capitalism is doomed. The book ends by asking whether there is an alternative to capitalism, discussing socialism, communal and cooperative experiments, and the alternatives proposed by environmentalists. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Tug wakes up in an unfamiliar place with people he doesn't recognize and is uncertain about his own identity. Meanwhile, Jinny knows that something strange is happening in the house and decides she must unravel the mystery herself in order to save the boy. She decides on a dangerous course of action to set Tug free, but will she be in time to save him? BLGillian Cross is a critically-acclaimed and well-known author who has won may awards including the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Children's Novel Award, and the Smarties Prize.

A sudden passion of anxious impatience rushed through my veins and gave me such a sense of the intensity of existence as I have never felt before or since. link title to catalogue entry (exact date?) Written in 1915, The Shadow-Line is based upon events and experiences from twenty-seven years earlier to which Conrad returned obsessively in his fiction. A young sea captain's first command brings with it a succession of crises: his sea is becalmed, the crew laid low by fever, and his deranged first mate is convinced that the ship is haunted by the malignant spirit of a previous captain. This is indeed a work full of sudden passions, in which Conrad is able to show how the full intensity of existence can be experienced by the man who, in the words of the older Captain Giles, is prepared to stand up to his bad luck, to his mistakes, to his conscience. A subtle and penetrating analysis of the nature of manhood, The Shadow-Line investigates varieties of masculinity and desire in a subtext that counterpoints the tale's seemingly conventional surface.

Issues in medical ethics are rarely out of the media and it is an area of ethics that has particular interest for the general public as well as the medical practitioner. This short and accessible introduction provides an invaluable tool with which to think about the ethical values that lie at the heart of medicine. Tony Hope deals with the thorny moral questions such as euthanasia and the morality of killing, and also explores political questions such as: how should health care resources be distributed fairly? Each chapter in this book considers a different issue: genetics, modern reproductive technologies, resource allocation, mental health, medical research, and discusses controversial questions such as: — Who should have access to reproductive technology? — Who should pay? — Is it right to fund expensive drug treatment for individuals? — Should active euthanasia be legalized? — Should treatment for mental illness be imposed on patients without their consent? — Who should have access to information from genetic testing? — Should we require consent for the use of dead bodies or organs in medical research?

Christian images have a long history within the Western art tradition from the narrative and devotional works of the Medieval and Renaissance periods, to the radical new interpretations of the twenty-first century. This fascinating new book explores the changing nature of the representation of key themes and subjects found in Christian art, covering the Eucharist, the crucifixion, the Virgin Mary, and the saints. Other sections deal with the changes to Christian art after the sixteenth-century Reformation, and with Christian art in the modern world. Within these themes, the book explores the work of major artists such as Memling, Holbein, El Greco and Rossetti, and well-known examples including the frescoes of St Francis at Assisi. Didactic and consciously devotional works are discussed alongside the controversial work of contemporary artists such as Andres Serrano and Chris Ofili.

This book is not about myths, but about approaches to myth, from all of the major disciplines, including science, religion, philosophy, literature, and psychology. The fate of the preternaturally beautiful Adonis is one of the main fables upon which Segal focuses, in an attempt to analyse the various different theories of myth. Where the theory does not work, he substitutes another myth, showing that, for all their claims to all-inclusiveness, certain theories, in fact, only apply to specific kinds of myths. A uniform set of questions is provided, to elucidate both the strengths and the weaknesses of the conjectures. A survey of the past 300 years of theorizing on myth, this book takes into account the work of such prominent thinkers as Albert Camus, Claude Levi-Strauss, Roland Barthes, C. G. Jung, and Sigmund Freud. Finally, Segal considers the future study of myth, and the possible function of myth in the world as the adult equivalent of play.

Every day we seem to make and act upon all kinds of free choices — some of them trivial, and some so consequential that they may change the course of our life, or even the course of history. But are these choices really free? Or are we compelled to act the way we do by factors beyond our control? Is the feeling that we could have made different decisions just an illusion? And if our choices are not free, why should we be held morally responsible for our actions? This Very Short Introduction, written by a leading authority on the subject, looks at a range of issues surrounding this fundamental philosophical question, exploring it from the ideas of the Greek and medieval philosophers through to the thoughts of present-day thinkers. It provides a interesting and incisive introduction to this perennially fascinating subject.

The ancient Egyptians are an enduring source of fascination — mummies and pyramids, curses and rituals have captured the imagination of generations. We all have a mental picture of ancient Egypt, but is it the right one? How much do we really know about this great civilization? In this absorbing introduction, Ian Shaw describes how our current ideas about Egypt are based not only on the thrilling discoveries made by early Egyptologists but also on fascinating new kinds of evidence produced by modern scientific and linguistic analyses. He also explores the changing influences on our responses to these finds, through such media as literature, cinema and contemporary art. Each chapter deals with a different aspect of ancient Egypt, from despotic pharaohs to dismembered bodies, and from hieroglyphs to animal-headed gods. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

This book is the record of a struggle between two temperaments, two consciences and almost two epochs. Father and Son stands as one of English literature's seminal autobiographies. In it Edmund Gosse recounts, with humour and pathos, his childhood as a member of a Victorian Protestant sect and his struggles to forge his own identity despite the loving control of his father. A key document of the crisis of faith and doubt; a penetrating exploration of the impact of evolutionary science; an astute, well-observed, and moving portrait of the tensions of family life: Father and Son remains a classic of twentieth-century literature. As well as an illuminating introduction, this edition also provides a series of fascinating appendices including extracts from Philip Gosse's Omphalos and his harrowing account of his wife's death from breast cancer.

The sweetness of her glance — or rather, my evil star already in its ascendant and drawing me to my ruin — did not allow me to hesitate for a moment So begins the story of Manon Lescaut, a tale of passion and betrayal, of delinquency and misalliance, which moves from early eighteenth-century Paris — with its theatres, assemblies, and gaming-houses — via prison and deportation to a tragic denouement in the treeless wastes of Louisiana. It is one of the great love stories, and also one of the most enigmatic: how reliable a witness is Des Grieux, Manon's lover, whose tale he narrates? Is Manon a thief and a whore, the image of love itself, or a thoroughly modern woman? Prevost is careful to leave the ambiguities unresolved, and to lay bare the disorders of passion. This new translation includes the vignette and eight illustrations that were approved by Prevost and first published in the edition of 1753.

This edition contains five comedies on the theme of marital disharmony by the Restoration playwright John Vanbrugh (1664-1726). In addition to The Relapse it includes The Provoked Wife, The Confederacy, A Journey to London, and The Country House. It has modernized texts, a critical introduction and wide-ranging annotation.

Everyone in the village where Lizzie lives thinks that she's a dreamer — so it's no wonder that they don't believe her when she says she's seen a witch. But Lizzie doesn't care because she knows it's true and having a witch for a friend makes life much more exciting. Helen Cresswell is a well-known writer and has written more than forty books. She has adapted stories such as The Phoenix and the Carpet and The Demon Head master for television.

Bridie's grandfather has vanished, and the menacing Crickbone brothers have taken over his yard. Suddenly Bridie finds herself all alone in the city. It never looked so strange and threatening before. But then she begins to discover friends in the unlikeliest of places, and ends up meeting Miss Firbanks, owner of the Byzantium Bazaar, a department store where time stands still and dust covers everything. Now all Bridie has to do is solve the mystery of what happened to Gramps, and for that she enlists the help of the street people.

A two-level introductory series for kindergarten and early elementary students studying English for the first time.

This popular series of readers has now been completely revised and updated, using a new syllabus and new word structure lists. Readability has been ensured by means of specially designed computer software. Words that are above level but essential to the story are explained within the text, illustrated, and then reused for maximum reinforcement.

A six-level series combining a traditional approach and a comprehensive grammar-based syllabus. A cast of colourful characters appears throughout.

Chit Chat follows the same syllabus as the popular Chatterbox course and is a communicative four-skills course for beginners. Intended to be more grammatically organized than other primary courses, it encourages children to play with patterns in language in order to discover the basic elements of English grammar. Zany cartoon bugs help to make this fun. Language is presented through the boys and girls of the Superstars music band, in humorous but realistic contexts and information about the band and its fans provides a model for children to write and talk about themselves. A comic-strip story in 12 parts, about the adventures of two friends who try to rescue a cave monster from a circus, encourages reading while the comic-strip format helps them both to follow the story and predict meaning. Non-fiction texts and photographs promote cross-cultural awareness, giving snapshots of life in English-speaking countries, and a review section after every three units consolidates and recycles the language that has been learnt. Diversity is added to the course through classroom plays and a range of shared activities to celebrate Halloween, Christmas and Easter. This activity book for the course offers further practice of structures and writing and is closely integrated with the class book lessons. It also includes a picture dictionary at the back.

Oxford Basics is a new series of short, accessible books for teachers who may be unfamiliar with communicative methodology. They are a source of guidance and ideas in areas that concern teachers every day in the classroom. Each of these books contains 30 beginning-level activities complete with ideas for boardwork and pictures that can easily be copied. All of the activities are simple and adaptable. They are particularly well-suited to classrooms where there are few resources apart from a board, paper, and pens.

A selection of activities for vocabulary work with children from 4 to 12 years of age. Each unit gives clear and accessible details of how to prepare, organize, and teach a lesson including examples of teacher language in the classroom. Taking into account the most effective ways in which children learn, the activities are designed to encourage the recall and recycling of vocabulary.

Read and Reflect actively develops academic reading strategies through the exploration of U.S. culture.