Editing Very Short Introductions

{{short description|Book series}}
{{primary sources|date=May 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox book series
| name = ''Very Short Introductions''
| image = Very Short Introductions.jpg
| image_caption = 
| author = Various
| editors = 
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| discipline = <!-- or |genre= -->
| publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
| pub_date = 1995–present
| media_type = Print (paperback), e-book
| number_of_books = 700+
| list_books = #List of books in the series
| oclc = 911799103
| website = {{URL|https://www.veryshortintroductions.com}}
}}

'''''Very Short Introductions''''' ('''''VSI''''') is a [[book series]] published by the [[Oxford University Press]] (OUP). The books are concise introductions to particular subjects, intended for a general audience but written by experts. Most are under 200-pages long. While authors may present personal viewpoints, the books are meant to be "balanced and complete" as well as thought provoking.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/series/VeryShortIntroductions/|title=Very Short Introductions|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=22 September 2011}}</ref>

The series began in 1995, and by March 2023 there were 730 titles, published or announced.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/content/series/v/very-short-introductions-vsi/|title=Very Short Introductions – General Series|publisher=Oxford University Press (UK)|access-date=18 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="oup">{{cite web |url=http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/series/VeryShortIntroductions/ |title=Very Short Introductions |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> The books have been commercially successful,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/academic/series/general/vsi/9780199590599.do?sortby=pubDateAscend&page=32&thumbby=10&thumbby_crawl=10 |title=Languages: A Very Short Introduction |publisher=Oxford University Press (UK) |access-date=2011-12-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224101632/http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/academic/series/general/vsi/9780199590599.do?sortby=pubDateAscend&page=32&thumbby=10&thumbby_crawl=10 |archive-date=24 December 2013 }}</ref> and have been published in more than 25 languages.<ref>{{cite book|last=Glendinning|first=Simon|title=Derrida: A Very Short Introduction|year=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-280345-0|page=ii}}</ref> Institutions can subscribe to an online service to allow their users to read the books.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.veryshortintroductions.com/ |title=Very Short Introductions |publisher=Oxford University Press (UK) |access-date=2015-02-16}}</ref>

Most of the books have been written specifically for the series, but around 60 were recycled from earlier OUP publications: several had been in OUP's ''[[Past Masters (book series)|Past Masters]]'' series,<ref name="schulz">{{cite magazine |last1=Schulz |first1=Kathryn |title=How to Be a Know-It-All |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/16/how-to-be-a-know-it-all |magazine=The New Yorker |publisher=Condé Nast |access-date=24 January 2023 |date=9 October 2017}}</ref> and numbers 17–24 used chapters from ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain'' (1984).

Each book of the series is numbered on its spine. These numbers broadly, but not exactly, correspond with the publication dates. Two books have been removed from the series: #60, "Shakespeare" by [[Germaine Greer]] was replaced by "William Shakespeare" by [[Stanley Wells]]; and #116, "Anarchism" by [[Colin Ward]] was replaced by "Anarchism" by Alex Prichard.

==Reception==
Writing in the ''New Yorker'' in 2017, [[Kathryn Schulz]] praised the diversity of topics covered but noted significant gaps in coverage, including an absence of women and people of colour in its 54 biographies and "a British bias in the choice of subjects".<ref name="schulz" /> Schulz also described the quality of the books as variable, favourably comparing the books written about ''Teeth'', ''Deserts'' and ''Robotics'' against those written on ''Mountains'', ''Home'' and ''Archaeology''.<ref name="schulz" />

In the ''Fortnightly Review'', Michelene Wandor said that the series "successfully bridged the gap between academic and trade publishing" and reviewed six volumes.<ref name="wandor">{{cite web |title=A brief guide to Oxford's 'Very Short Introductions'. |url=https://fortnightlyreview.co.uk/2011/12/oup-short-introductions/ |website=The Fortnightly Review |access-date=24 January 2023 |date=8 December 2011}}</ref>

==List of books in the series==
See [[List of Very Short Introductions books]].

==Boxed sets==
Six boxed sets, each with a different theme, were released in 2006. Five books from the series on the given theme were included, plus the series' promotional volume ''A Very Short Introduction to Everything''.
* '''The Ballot Box'''
** [[Politics]] (008)
** [[Capitalism]] (108)
** [[Democracy]] (075)
** [[Socialism]] (126)
** [[Fascism]] (077)
* '''The Brain Box'''
** [[Evolution]] (100)
** [[Consciousness]] (121)
** [[Intelligence]] (039)
** [[Cosmology]] (051)
** [[Quantum Mechanics|Quantum Theory]] (069)
* '''The Thought Box'''
** [[Hegel]] (049)
** [[Marx]] (028)
** [[Nietzsche]] (034)
** [[Schopenhauer]] (062)
** [[Kierkegaard]] (058)
* '''The Basics Box'''
** [[Philosophy]] (055)
** [[Mathematics]] (066)
** [[History]] (016)
** [[Politics]] (008)
** [[Psychology]] (006)
* '''The Boom Box'''
** [[Ancient Warfare]] (117)
** [[Cold War]] (087)
** [[Crusades]] (140)
** [[French Revolution]] (054)
** [[Spanish Civil War]] (123)
* '''The Picture Box'''
** [[Art History]] (102)
** [[Renaissance Art]] (129)
** [[Modern Art]] (120)
** [[Architecture]] (072)
** [[Design]] (136)

==See also==
* ''[[Fontana Modern Masters]]'', a similar series on 20th century thinkers.
*''[[Découvertes Gallimard]]'', a similar series in French of introductory books written by experts, started in 1986, noted for its fine illustration. Some titles are translated in other languages.
*''[[For Dummies]]'', a series of instructional reference books and beginners guides with a focus on the practical aspects or application of various topics.  
*''[[Que sais-je?]]'', a similar series in French of introductory books written by experts, started in 1941. Some titles are translated in other languages. 
*''[[Rough Guides]]'', whose non-travel books also cover culture and science.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://academic.oup.com/very-short-introductions Oxford Academic - Very Short Introductions]
* [http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/category/academic/series/general/vsi.do Oxford University Press - Very Short Introductions]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:British non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Oxford University Press books]]
[[Category:Publications established in 2000]]
[[Category:Series of non-fiction books]]