Very Short Introductions from Oxford University Press (NYPL database)

This database is available at all New York Public Library locations and remotely with an NYPL library card.  It consists of the full text of the entire catalog of Oxford University Press's Very Short Introductions series, some 530+ titles, which are browsable by title or subject.  The books offer concise overviews of a wide range of academic subjects in the arts & humanities, law, medicine & health, science & mathematics, and social sciences.  Many titles in the series are also available at the GC Library in print or online.  Check OneSearch for availability.

Recently published VSIs include:  Dinosaurs, Mammals, Shakespeare’s Sonnets and Poems, and Thinking and Reasoning.

Read an appreciation of these pithy and informative works in the Oct. 16, 2017 issue of The New Yorker:  "How to Be a Know-It-All:  What You Learn from the Very Short Introduction Series" by Kathryn Schulz.