Introducing... (book series)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Introducing...
CountryEngland
LanguageEnglish
PublisherIcon Books
Published1992–present
Media typePaperback
Preceded by...For Beginners

The Introducing... series is a book series of graphic guides covering key thinkers and topics in philosophy, psychology and science, and many others in politics, religion, cultural studies, linguistics and other areas. Books are written by an expert in the field and illustrated, comic-book style, by a leading graphic artist.

History[]

The Introducing... series, like the For Beginners series, has its origins in two Spanish-language books, Cuba para principiantes (1960) and Marx para principiantes (1972) by the Mexican political cartoonist and writer Rius, pocket books which put their content over in a humorous comic book way but with a serious underlying purpose. An English-language version of the first book was published in 1970 by of San Francisco and Pathfinder Press of New York, to no particularly great impact. However, when Richard Appignanesi edited the first English edition of Marx for Beginners (1976) for the London-based Writers and Readers Publishing Cooperative, of which he was a co-founding member with Glenn Thompson and others, it was soon clear that the collective had a hit on their hands.[1][2] With a successful format identified, further "... for Beginners" titles soon began to appear. The line's most enduring titles, all published during this period, were Marx for Beginners (1976), Freud for Beginners (1979), Einstein for Beginners (1979), and Darwin for Beginners (1982).[3] In the early 1980s schism arose over questions of control after some members of the cooperative sold U.S. rights to part of the For Beginners series to Pantheon Books and the Cooperative officially disbanded in 1984.

In 1992, Richard Appignanesi, who had been the first editor in London for the series and had also written several of the titles, co-created the new London-based publisher Icon Books, under whose imprint he republished several of the For Beginner titles and continued to publish and expand a new version of the series. Meanwhile, Glenn Thompson, who, since 1987, had continued the For Beginners through his New York-based Writers and Readers Publishing, Inc., also established the London-based [4] in 1992, to protect his own continuation of the series. These two publishers continued their series in several cases commissioning new authors to create alternate books to those being published by the other, leading to a number of examples where the two series were publishing two different books under the same title. The situation was eventually resolved in 1999 by the Icon series being rebranded as the Introducing... series, with titles starting with that word instead of ending "For Beginners".

Beginning in 2008, Icon's new titles and reissues played down the "Introducing..." to the level of a series name, and the titles were instead prominently subtitled "A Graphic Guide." In 2011, a second "Introducing..." series was launched with the subtitle "Practical Guides" focusing on topics within business, psychology and counselling.

Reception[]

Science writer Brian Clegg, author of Introducing Infinity (2012) in the series, states that, "It is almost impossible to rate these relentlessly hip books - they are pure marmite," as the series, "puts across the message in a style that owes as much to Terry Gilliam and pop art as it does to popular science."[5]

List of titles[]

Graphic Guides[]

The following Graphic Guides titles have been published or republished by Icon Books since 1992.

Title ISBN Writer(s) Artist(s) Pages Publication Date Notes
Aesthetics 978-1-84831-167-1 Christopher Kul-Want Piero 176 2007  
Alain Badiou 978-1-84831-665-2 Michael J. Kelly Piero 176 2014  
American Politics 978-1-84046-098-8 Patrick Brogan Chris Garratt 192 1999  
Anthropology 978-1-84831-168-8 Merryl Wyn Davies Piero 176 2002  
Aristotle 978-1-874166-36-8 Rupert Woodfin Judy Groves 176 1996 Originally published as Arostotle for Beginners
Artificial Intelligence 978-1-84831-214-2 Henry Brighton Howard Selina 176 2003  
Astrology 978-1-87416-626-9 Geoffrey Cornelius, Maggie Hyde Chris Webster 176 1995  
Barthes 978-1-84831-204-3 Philip Thody Piero 176 1997 Originally published as Barthes for Beginners
Baudrillard 978-1-874166-36-8 Chris Horrocks Zoran Jevtic 176 1996 Originally published as Baudrillard for Beginners
Bertrand Russell 978-1-84831-302-6 Dave Robinson Judy Groves 176 2002
Buddha 978-1-84831-011-7 Jane Hope Borin Van Loon 176 1994 Originally published as Buddha for Beginners
Camus 978-1-84046-000-1 David Mariowitz Alain Korkos 176 1998 Originally published as Camus for Beginners, discontinued
Capitalism 978-1-84831-055-1 Dan Cryan, Sharron Shatil Piero 176 2009  
Chaos 978-1-84831-013-1 Ziauddin Sardar Iwona Abrams 176 1998 Originally published as Chaos for Beginners
Chomsky 978-1-87416-642-9 John Maher Judy Groves 176 1996 Originally published as Chomsky for Beginners
Consciousness 978-1-84046-115-2 David Papineau Howard Selina 176 2000  
Continental Philosophy 978-1-84831-417-7 Christopher Kul-Want Piero 176 2013  
Critical Theory 978-1-84831-059-9 Stuart Sim Borin Van Loon 176 2001  
Cultural Studies 978-1-84046-074-2 Ziauddin Sardar Borin Van Loon 176 1997 Originally published as Cultural Studies for Beginners
Cyberspace 978-187416-624-5 Joanna Buick Zoran Jevtic 176 1995 Originally published as Cyberspace for Beginners, discontinued
Darwin 978-1-84831-117-6 Jonathan Miller Borin Van Loon 176 1992 Previously published as Darwin for Beginners (Writers and Readers, 1982)
Derrida 978-1-874166-38-2 Jeff Collins Bill Mayblin 172 1996 Originally published as Derrida for Beginners (distinct from Derrida for Beginners by Jim Powell & Van Howell, Writers and Readers, 1997)
Descartes 978-1-84046-719-2 Dave Robinson Chris Garratt 176 1998 Originally published as Descartes for Beginners
Eastern Philosophy 978-1-84046-150-3 Richard Osborne Borin Van Loon 176 1996 Originally published as Ancient Eastern Philosophy for Beginners
Economics 978-1-84831-215-9 David Orrell Borin Van Loon 176 2011  
Einstein 978-1-874166-02-3 Joseph Schwartz Michael McGuinness 174 1992 Previously published as Einstein for Beginners (Writers and Readers, 1979), discontinued
Empiricism 978-1-84046-545-7 Dave Robinson Bill Mayblin 176 2004  
Enlightenment 978-1-84831-179-4 Lloyd Spencer Andrzej Krauze 176 1997 Originally published as The Enlightenment for Beginners
Environmental Politics 978-1-874166-03-0 Stephen Croall William Rankin 174 1992 Previously published as Ecology for Beginners (Writers and Readers, 1981), discontinued
Epigenetics 978-1-84831-862-5 Cath Ennis Oliver Pugh 176 2017  
Ethics 978-1-84831-008-7 Dave Robinson Chris Garratt 176 1996 Originally published as Ethics for Beginners
Evolution 978-1-84831-186-2 Dylan Evans Howard Selina 176 2001  
Evolutionary Psychology 978-1-84831-182-4 Dylan Evans Oscar Zárate 176 1999  
Existentialism 978-1-84046-266-1 Richard Appignanesi Oscar Zárate 176 2001  
Fascism 978-1-84046-154-1 Stuart Hood Litza Jansz 176 1993 Originally published as Fascism for Beginners
Feminism 978-1-84831-121-3 Cathia Jenainati Judy Groves 176 2007  
Feminism 978-1-874166-04-7 Susan Alice Watkins Marisa Rueda, Marta Rodriguez 176 1992 Originally published as Feminism for Beginners, discontinued
Foucault 978-1-84831-060-5 Christopher Horrocks Zoran Jevtic 176 1997 Originally published as Foucault for Beginners
Fractals 978-1-84831-087-2 Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon, Will Rood Ralph Edney 176 2000 Originally published as Introducing Fractal Geometry
Freud 978-1-84046-851-9 Richard Appignanesi Oscar Zárate 176 1992 Originally published as Freud for Beginners (Writers and Readers, 1979)
Freud Wars 978-1-84046-381-1 Stephen Wilson Oscar Zárate 176 2002 Discontinued
Game Theory 978-1-78578-082-0 Ivan Pastine, Tuvana Pastine Tom Humberstone 176 2017  
Genetics 978-1-84831-295-1 Steve Jones Borin Van Loon 176 1993 Originally published as Genetics for Beginners
Hegel 978-1-84046-111-4 Lloyd Spencer Andrzej Krauze 176 1996 Originally published as Hegel for Beginners
Heidegger 978-1-84831-174-9 Jeff Collins Howard Selina 176 1998 Originally published as Heidegger for Beginners
Hinduism 978-1-84831-114-5 Vinay Lal Borin Van Loon 176 2001  
Holocaust 978-1-87416-616-0 Haim Bresheeth, Stuart Hood Litza Jansz 176 1994 Originally published as The Holocaust for Beginners
Infinity 978-1-84831-406-1 Brian Clegg Oliver Pugh 176 2012  
Internet 978-187416-684-9 Laurel Brunner Zoran Jevtic 176 1997 Originally published as The Internet for Beginners, discontinued
Islam 978-1-84831-084-1 Ziauddin Sardar Zafar Abbas Malik 176 1994 Originally published asMuhammad for Beginners (distinct from Islam for Beginners by Nabil Ibrahim Matar & H.N. Haddad, Writers and Readers, 1992)
Jesus 978-1-87416-610-8 Anthony O'Hear Judy Groves 176 1993 Originally published as Jesus for Beginners, A.K.A. Introducing Christianity
Joyce 978-1-87416-619-1 David Norris Carl Flint 176 1994 Originally published as Joyce for Beginners
Jung 978-1-84831-010-0 Maggie Hyde Michael McGuinness 176 1992 Originally published as Jung for Beginners
Kafka 978-1-84046-122-0 David Zane Mairowitz Robert Crumb 176 1993 Originally published as Kafka for Beginners, discontinued
Kant 978-1-84046-664-5 Christopher Kul-Want Andrzej Klimowski 176 1996 Originally published as Kant for Beginners
Keynes 978-1-84046-157-2 Peter Pugh Chris Garratt 176 1993 Originally published as Keynesian Economics for Beginners
Kierkegaard 978-1-84046-758-1 Dave Robinson Oscar Zarate 176 2003  
Lacan 978-1-84046-168-8 Darian Leader Judy Groves 176 2000  
Learning & Memory 978-1-840463-50-7 Ziauddin Sardar, Richard Appignanesi Ralph Edney 120 2002 discontinued
Lévi-Strauss 978-1-87416-662-7 Boris Wiseman Judy Groves 176 1997 Originally published as Lévi-Strauss for Beginners
Linguistics 978-1-84831-088-9 R. L. Trask Bill Mayblin 176 2000  
Literary Criticism 978-1-84831-904-2 Owen Holland Piero 176 2016  
Logic 978-1-84831-012-4 Dan Cryan, Sharron Shatil Bill Mayblin 176 2001  
Machiavelli 978-1-84046-116-9 Patrick Curry Oscar Zarate 176 1995 Originally published as Machiavelli for Beginners
Mafia 978-1-87416-620-7 Arnd Schneider Oscar Zarate 176 1995  
Mandela 978-187416-622-1 Tony Pinchuck Roger Trask 176 1994  
Marx 978-184046-055-1 Rius Rius 160 1999 Translated from Marx para principiantes (1972)
Marxism 978-1-84831-058-2 Rupert Woodfin Oscar Zárate 176 2004  
Mathematics 978-1-84046-011-7 Ziauddin Sardar Borin Van Loon 176 1999  
Media Studies 978-1-84046-114-5 Ziauddin Sardar Borin Van Loon 176 2000 discontinued
Melanie Klein 978-1-87416-661-0 Robert Hinshelwood, Susan Robinson Oscar Zarate 176 1997 Originally published as Melanie Klein for Beginners
Mind & Brain 978-1-84046-854-0 Angus Gellatly Oscar Zárate 176 1998 Originally published as Mind & Brain for Beginners, discontinued
Modernism 978-1-84831-116-9 Chris Rodrigues Chris Garratt 176 2001  
Newton 978-1-87416-607-8 William Rankin William Rankin 176 1993 Originally published as Newton for Beginners
Nietzsche 978-1-84831-009-4 Laurence Gane Kitty Chan (1997), Piero (2005) 176 1997 Originally published as Nietzsche for Beginners
Particle Physics 978-1-84831-589-1 Tom Whyntie Oliver Pugh 176 2013  
Philosophy 978-1-84046-853-3 Dave Robinson Judy Groves 176 1999 Originally published as Western Philosophy for Beginners
Philosophy of Science 978-1-84046-358-3 Ziauddin Sardar Borin Van Loon 176 1998 Originally published as Science Studies for Beginners
Picasso 978-1-874166-29-0 Andrew Brighton Andrzej Klimowski 176 1995 Originally published as Picasso for Beginners, discontinued
Plato 978-1-84046-113-8 Dave Robinson Judy Groves 176 2000
Political Philosophy 978-1-84046-450-4 Dave Robinson Judy Groves 176 2003  
Postfeminism 978-1-84046-010-0 Sophia Phoca Rebecca Wright 176 1999 Discontinued
Postmodernism 978-1-84046-849-6 Richard Appignanesi, Chris Garratt, Ziauddin Sardar Patrick Curry 192 1995 Originally published as Postmodernism for Beginners
Psychiatry 978-1-84046-537-2 Nigel C. Benson Piero 176 2004 discontinued
Psychoanalysis 978-1-84046-176-3 Ivan Ward Oscar Zárate 176 2000  
Psychology 978-1-84046-852-6 Nigel C. Benson Nigel C. Benson 176 1998 Originally published as Psychology for Beginners
Psychotherapy 978-1-84046-441-2 Nigel C. Benson Borin Van Loon 176 2003  
Quantum Theory 978-1-84046-850-2 J.P. McEvoy Oscar Zárate 176 1996 Originally published as Quantum Theory for Beginners
Relativity 978-1-84831-057-5 Bruce Bassett Ralph Edney 176 2002  
Romanticism 978-1-84046-009-4 Duncan Heath Judy Boreham 176 1999  
Rousseau 978-1-84046-232-6 Dave Robinson Oscar Zarate 176 2001  
Sartre 978-1-84046-007-0 Philip Thody Howard Read 176 1998 Originally published as Sartre for Beginners
Semiotics 978-1-84046-073-5 Paul Cobley Litza Jansz 176 1997 Originally published as Semiotics for Beginners
Shakespeare 978-1-84831-115-2 Nick Groom Piero 176 2001  
Slavoj Žižek 978-1-84831-057-5 Christopher Kul-Want Piero 176 2011  
Sociology 978-1-84831-085-8 Richard Osborne Borin Van Loon 176 1996 Originally published as Sociology for Beginners, discontinued
Sociology 978-1-78578-073-8 John Nagle Piero 176 2016 Replaces previous edition.
Statistics 978-1-84831-056-8 Eileen Magnello Borin Van Loon 176 2009  
Stephen Hawking 978-1-84831-094-0 J. P. McEvoy Oscar Zárate 176 1995 Originally published as Stephen Hawking for Beginners
Thatcherism 978-1-87416-653-5 Peter Pugh Carl Flint 176 1997 Originally published as Thatcher for Beginners
Time 978-1-84831-120-6 Craig Callender Ralph Edney 176 2001  
Trotsky 978-1-84046-001-8 Tariq Ali Phil Evans 176 1998 Previously published as Trotsky for Beginners (Writers and Readers, 1998), discontinued
Universe 978-1-84046-761-1 Felix Pirani Christine Roche 176 1993 Originally published as The Universe for Beginners, discontinued
Wagner 978-1-87416-627-6 Michael White Kevin Scott 176 1995 Originally published as Wagner for Beginners
Walter Benjamin 978-1-84831-692-8 Howard Caygill, Alex Coles, Andrzej Klimowski 176 1998 Originally published as Walter Benjamin for Beginners
Wittgenstein 978-1-84831-086-5 John M. Heaton Judy Groves 176 1994 Originally published as Wittgenstein for Beginners

Practical Guides[]

The following Practical Guides titles have been published by Icon Books since 2011.

Title ISBN Writer(s) Pages Publication Date Notes
Assertiveness 978-1-84831-505-1 David Bonham-Carter 224 2013  
Body Language 978-1-84831-421-4 Glenn Wilson 224 2012  
Business Creativity 978-1-84831-400-9 Roger Neill 224 2013  
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) 978-1-84831-254-8 Elaine Iljon Foreman, Clair Pollard 224 2011  
CBT for Work 978-1-84831-419-1 Gill Garratt 224 2012  
Child Psychology 978-1-84831-258-6 Kairen Cullen 224 2011  
Confident Speaking 978-1-84831-679-9 Alan Woodhouse 224 2014  
Counselling 978-1-84831-626-3 Alistair Ross 224 2013  
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) 978-1-84831-662-1 Judy Byrne 224 2014  
Emotional Intelligence 978-1-84831-422-1 David Walton 224 2012  
Entrepreneurship 978-1-84831-625-6 Alison Price, David Price 224 2013  
Ethics for Everyday Life 978-1-84831-341-5 Dave Robinson 224 2012  
Family Psychology 978-1-84831-518-1 James Powell 224 2013  
Getting the Job You Want 978-1-84831-506-8 Denise Taylor 224 2013  
Happiness 978-1-84831-362-0 Will Buckingham 224 2012  
Leadership 978-1-84831-511-2 Alison Price, David Price 224 2013  
Management 978-1-84831-401-6 Alison Price, David Price 224 2012  
Mindfulness 978-1-84831-255-5 Tessa Watt 224 2012  
NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) 978-1-84831-256-2 Neil Shah 224 2011  
NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) for Work 978-1-84831-380-4 Dianne Lowther 224 2012  
Overcoming Phobias 978-1-84831-650-8 Patricia Furness-Smith 224 2014  
Overcoming Problem Eating 978-1-84831-721-5 Patricia Furness-Smith 224 2015  
Personal Finance 978-1-84831-723-9 Michael Taillard 224 2015  
Persuasion 978-1-84831-722-2 Anthony McLean 224 2014  
Philosophy for Everyday Life 978-1-84831-356-9 Trevor Curnow 224 2012  
Positive Psychology 978-1-84831-277-7 Bridget Grenville-Cleave 224 2012  
Productivity 978-1-84831-649-2 Graham Allcott 224 2014  
Psychology of Relationships 978-1-84831-359-0 John Karter 224 2012  
Psychology of Success 978-1-84831-259-3 Alison Price, David Price 224 2011  
Resilience 978-1-84831-512-9 Gladeana McMahon 224 2013  
Self-Esteem 978-1-84831-365-1 David Bonham-Carter 224 2012  
Sport Psychology 978-1-84831-257-9 Arnold LeUnes 224 2011  
Stress Management 978-1-84831-420-7 Graham Price 224 2014 Publication cancelled.
Well-Being 978-1-84831-796-3 Patricia Furness-Smith 224 2015  

See also[]

  • For Beginners, LLC

References[]

  1. ^ The history of Introducing books, introducingbooks.com. Accessed 2011-01-29.
  2. ^ Our Story Archived 2014-10-16 at the Wayback Machine, For Beginners books. Accessed 2011-01-29.
  3. ^ MacDonald, H. (2003), "Pantheon re-offers 'for beginners' series," Publishers Weekly, 250(51), 26.
  4. ^ "Writers and Readers Limited," DueDil.com Accessed Jan. 12, 2015.
  5. ^ "Introducing Evolution: A Graphic Guide". Popular Science. Retrieved 2017-01-21.

External links[]

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