There are many debates about utopia — What constitutes a utopia? Are utopias benign or dangerous? Is the idea of utopianism essential to Christianity or heretical? What is the relationship between utopia and ideology? This Very Short Introduction explores these issues and examines utopianism and its history. Lyman Sargent discusses the role of utopianism in literature, and in the development of colonies and in immigration. The idea of utopia has become commonplace in social and political thought, both negatively and positively. Some thinkers see a trajectory from utopia to totalitarianism with violence an inevitable part of the mix. Others see utopia directly connected to freedom and as a necessary element in the fight against totalitarianism. In Christianity utopia is labelled as both heretical and as a fundamental part of Christian belief, and such debates are also central to such fields as architecture, town and city planning, and sociology among many others Sargent introduces and summarizes the debates over the utopia in literature, communal studies, social and political theory, and theology.

Praised as suave, soulful, ebullient (Tom Waits) and a meticulous researcher, a graceful writer, and a committed contrarian (New York Times Book Review), Elijah Wald is one of the leading popular music critics of his generation. In The Blues, Wald surveys a genre at the heart of American culture. It is not an easy thing to pin down. As Howlin' Wolf once described it, When you ain't got no money and can't pay your house rent and can't buy you no food, you've damn sure got the blues. It has been defined by lyrical structure, or as a progression of chords, or as a set of practices reflecting West African tonal and rhythmic approaches, using a five-note blues scale. Wald sees blues less as a style than as a broad musical tradition within a constantly evolving pop culture. He traces its roots in work and praise songs, and shows how it was transformed by such professional performers as W. C. Handy, who first popularized the blues a century ago. He follows its evolution from Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith through Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix; identifies the impact of rural field recordings of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charley Patton and others; explores the role of blues in the development of both country music and jazz; and looks at the popular rhythm and blues trends of the 1940s and 1950s, from the uptown West Coast style of T-Bone Walker to the down home Chicago sound of Muddy Waters. Wald brings the story up to the present, touching on the effects of blues on American poetry, and its connection to modern styles such as rap. As with all of Oxford's Very Short Introductions, The Blues tells you — with insight, clarity, and wit — everything you need to know to understand this quintessentially American musical genre.

Anchored in the principles of the free-market economics, 'neoliberalism' has been associated with such different political leaders as Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Augusto Pinochet, and Junichiro Koizumi. In its heyday during the late 1990s, neoliberalism emerged as the world's dominant economic paradigm stretching from the Anglo-American heartlands of capitalism to the former communist bloc all the way to the developing regions of the global South. At the dawn of the new century, however, neoliberalism has been discredited as the global economy, built on its principles, has been shaken to its core by a financial calamity not seen since the dark years of the 1930s. So is neoliberalism doomed or will it regain its former glory? Will reform-minded G-20 leaders embark on a genuine new course or try to claw their way back to the neoliberal glory days of the Roaring Nineties? Is there a viable alternative to neoliberalism? Exploring the origins, core claims, and considerable variations of neoliberalism, this Very Short Introduction offers a concise and accessible introduction to one of the most debated 'isms' of our time.

These three works exemplify the Roman historian Sallust`s condemnation of the excesses of the late Republic. In the conspiracy of Catiline and the war against Jugurtha he sees moral and political corruption and the tragedy of civil strife. This new translation captures Sallust`s distinctive style and considers his work as history and literature.

Would You Believe in Mexico people picnic at granny's grave?! is a wonderful account of family life, throughout history and all over the world. Welcoming a new child into a family, growing-up and leaving home, marriage and death, are all covered in this book. What makes a family a family? We learn that family can mean all kinds of things to different people around the world. A family can have one, two, three or more parents — some might have no parents at all, like the founders of Rome who were raised by a wolf! Some families are large with lots of step-relations and others are small, like in China where parents are restricted to having only one child. Family can mean much more than simply being related by blood for children adopted or for step-families. Learn where you fit into your family and find out how to make a family tree. How might a typical Eskimo family be different to yours? How did the ancient Egyptians celebrate growing up and what does it mean to be born into a famous family? How have families throughout history dealt with the death of loved ones? Some cultures choose to mourn their loss and others to celebrate life. Find out the answers to these questions and many more in this fascinating read.

A fascinating account of the world of work from prehistoric times to the present day. Covering so much more than the 9 to 5 this book looks at all kinds of work from child labour and slavery to high powered or highly dangerous jobs. Learn about the machines replacing humans in the workplace and the communities who don't even have a concept of what work is. What happens when work is scarce or people are forced to work against their will? And how many people's dreams of leaving work behind come true.

It's just a regular trip for Kevin, and he comes back with just the regular sorts of things. Some local fudge, a scented candle for his mum... and his own personal god. It's Abandinus, a little-known Celtic deity, who has suddenly found a new purpose in his eternal life-sorting out Kevin's. With a god on your side, everything's going to get a lot easier, isn't it? After all, a god can get stuff done. The trouble is, it's not always the kind of stuff Kevin has in mind...

Something is not quite right in the Foundation's War Room. The training robots powered by Hero.com are starting to take on a life of their own. A new villain is taking control-NanoMite. This fiendish cyborg is using his nanite swarm to take control of every electric appliance on the planet. Within days he threatens to plunge the entire world back into the Dark Ages. For Toby, things are not looking so good either. Lorna is keeping a low profile after her relationship with the Dark Hunter is revealed, Emily wants to find their traitrous friend Pete-and Toby has a painful crush on Jen. Worse still, Toby's plan to bring down the Council of Evil is thwarted when he is assigned to train up fledgling heroes. To add insult to injury, a pair of new Downloaders are now everybody's favourite heroes. A dangerous game of one-upmanship unfolds between Toby and the horribly likeable twins. But Toby won't let anything distract him from his main focus. He is determined to bring wrongdoers to justice-even at the cost of betraying somebody close to him... As civilization teeters on the brink of disater-which heroes will save the day?

The world is in danger! From gigantic eruptions to asteroid collisions natural disasters have the power to devastate life on Earth. Find out why these disasters occur, what effects they have on our surroundings and how likely each disaster is to strike again. Find out what we are doing to avoid disasters in the future, and how people are learning to live with the threat of an earthquake or volcano on their doorstep.

Nathan knows something is watching him — something menacing and dangerous. Something without a shape, that he can't get out of his head. The Creature. Then there are the noises he starts hearing in the attic. Shuffling. Scratching. Even a voice. The Bogeyman. Nathan's sure that the Creature and the Bogeyman are the same thing. Whatever it is, it's after him. As soon as it's strong enough, it will show Nathan what it really wants. And it's growing stronger all the time...

Tom is back at the Scatterhorn Museum, looking forward to spending some time there while his parents are away on one of their adventures. But an unexpected visitor called Pearl Smoot throws everything into disarray when she arrives with an incredible story. She says Tom's old enemy, Don Gervase Askary, has taken her father and brother — and what's more, she claims he has Tom's parents too. Together Tom and Pearl set out on a perilous journey to rescue their families — a journey that will take them in and out of time, to exotic foreign lands, and finally into the secret hidden world of Scarazand, stronghold of the terrifying Don Gervase himself... It's non-stop action in this breathtaking sequel to the first fantastic Tom Scatterhorn book, The Museum's Secret.

Rain designs exquisite stained glass for the windows of her city. But the law is clear-it is forbidden for girls to be part of the glassmakers' guild. To keep her secret hidden, she leaves home and travels to the strange new country of Magharna. When Peri witnesses Rain's capture by a gang of bandits, both his fate and his heart become tied to hers. They escape the outlaws, but Peri and his family of falconers are untouchables who are scorned by all, and Rain is not allowed to be part of their lives. Can Rain and Peri's love survive the prejudices against them? And with the country on the brink of disaster will they be able to stop their world from smashing apart?

How does a doctor examine a person's brain? They won't use any knives on me, will they? Rowan knows he is strange. But dangerous? He didn't mean to scare his sister. In his right mind, he wouldn't hurt a fly. But there's a place he can go where they say they can fix his mind... Beyond the bars on the window, England is at war. Behind them, Rowan's own battle is only just beginning. This amazing story gives a thought-provoking look at life in an asylum and the experimental treatments practised at the start of the Second World War. For Rowan, nobody could ever have predicted the effect these treatments would have...

We have no idea what's behind of any of these Doors, she said. It could be dangerous for us... and we could be dangerous for it. The city of Shattershard lies in ruins following a war engineered by three teenagers from Earth. The devastation has left Laura blind, Alex injured, and Zoe without a way home. Forced to leave Shattershard, they're now caught between worlds and face thousands of Doors — with no way of knowing what lies beyond them. And in unknown worlds there are unknown rules. Rules that, when broken, carry a price... 'Lassiter... is a young writer to look out for' The Times.

What happens here is real and dangerous. You have stumbled into a darkness you don't understand. They thought they could handle it. They thought they understood the rules. They were wrong. Now four of Earth's teenagers are trapped in new and unfamiliar worlds — paying for their part in destroying the city of Shattershard... and almost destroying each other. Each thinks they know their friends from their enemies, but who can they really trust? And will they ever find their way home? Shadowland is the third part of a fast-paced fantasy which shows what it might really be like to travel into another world.

BETRAYED. ATTACKED. LOST. Life has returned to normal for Hanna, Ned and Jik after their adventures in the tempestuous Sulu Sea. But then Dad heads to Borneo to look for gold and everything goes horribly wrong. Dad is accused of murder, and Hanna, Ned and Jik know they must go into the jungle to prove his innocence. It is a race against time but the tropical forest is filled with predators — both animal and human. And what deadly secret waits in the heart of the jungle?

Heat and dust — these simple, terrible words describe the Indian summer. Year after year, endlessly, it is the same. And everyone who experiences this heat and dust is changed for ever. We often say, in these modern times, that sexual relationships have changed, for better or for worse. But in this book we see that things have not changed. Whether we look back sixty years, or a hundred and sixty, we see that it is not things that change, but people. And, in the heat and dust of an Indian summer, even people are not very different after all.

Your grandmother is old, says Mr Li to his daughter. She has eaten more salt than you have eaten rice. Mr Li is cross with his daughter when she does not show respect to her grandmother, but Mr Li himself is not always patient with his old mother. She has lived a long time, and the future holds no promise for her. So she holds on to the past... Bookworms World Stories collect stories written in English from around the world. The stories in this volume are from China, Singapore, and India, and are by writers Ha Jin, Minfong Ho, and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.

This award-winning collection of adapted classic literature and original stories develops reading skills for low-beginning through advanced students. Accessible language and carefully controlled vocabulary build students' reading confidence. Introductions at the beginning of each story, illustrations throughout, and glossaries help build comprehension. Before, during, and after reading activities included in the back of each book strengthen student comprehension. Audio versions of selected titles provide great models of intonation and pronunciation of difficult words.

Red Dog was a Red Cloud kelpie, an Australian sheepdog. His life was full of excitement and adventure. He travelled all over Western Australia, and never really had an owner. But he had many, many friends, and he always knew where to go for a good meal. Louis de Bernieres collected these stories about the life of a real dog in Western Australia. They are all true stories — some are funny, some are sad, but all are unforgettable. Everybody should have a friend like Red Dog.