Marina Warner guides us through the rich world of fairy tale, from Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel to Snow White and Pan's Labyrinth. Exploring pervasive themes of folklore, myth, the supernatural, imagination, and fantasy, Warner highlights the impact of the genre on human understanding, history, and culture.

From murder to theft to drug gangs, crime and criminal justice affect the lives of millions of people worldwide. Tim Newburn considers how we can study trends in crime, and use them to inform preventative policy and criminal justice. Analysing the history of crime, he discusses the role of criminology in crime control and politics.

Is terrorism crime or war? Can there be a 'war against terrorism'? In this fully updated edition, Charles Townshend unravels the questions at the heart of the problem of terrorism - its causes, methods, effects, and limitations - suggesting that it must be understood as a political strategy whose threat can be rationally grasped and answered.

Sexual selection, Darwin's other big idea, is the selection for particular traits and behaviours that results from (usually) female choice and male competition. It can produce flamboyant features, such as the peacock's tail, which would seem to be detrimental to survival. This book explores our understanding of how sexual selection works.

Jan Zalasiewicz introduces the field of geology, its fundamental role in understanding the Earth and other planets, and its economic importance in the finding and exploitation of resources. He explains how geologists work today, and describes major discoveries such as plate tectonics, and the field's exciting frontiers such as the geology of Mars.

Demography is the study the study of population size, distribution, composition, and density. Sarah Harper discusses the key theories and methods involved in studying population trends and movements, considers how our current global population came about, and addresses some of the future population challenges of the 21st century.

The Psychology of Music: A Very Short Introduction seeks to answer fundamental questions of enduring interest, such as "What is musicality?" and "How does music move us?" In doing so, it reveals what happens when science attempts to confront some of the deepest questions about music.

Methodism began as renewal movement within Anglicanism in the eighteenth century, dominated the Protestant landscape of the USA in the nineteenth, and continues to be one of the most vibrant forms of Christianity worldwide today. William J Abraham traces its history, describes its particular identity and emphases, and looks to its future prospects.

The U.S. Constitution: A Very Short Introduction explores the major themes of American constitutional history-federalism, the balance of powers, property, representation, equality, rights, and security. Informed by the latest scholarship, each theme illustrates how the Constitution has served as a dynamic framework for legitimating power and advancing liberty.

In The History of Childhood: A Very Short Introduction, Marten provides a sweeping narrative of the key features of childhood through time and around the world, focusing on conflict and change, war and reform, and the issues and conditions that have shaped childhood throughout history and continue to shape it in the twenty-first century.