What the hell are our books about?
The "Who the hell is...?" series is a range of highly structured books delving into one intellectual's life and works and offering the reader an enjoyable, informative and, above all, accessible read.
When you’re studying something complicated, you don't want to be faced with a lot of academic jargon. Instead you are looking to really get to grips with what the hell each great thinker is really on about. So we decided to create a series of books covering all the complicated subjects that can help you do just that. As well as delving into the life and influences of each intellectual, each book chooses three key theories – the ones that the thinker is really known for – and explores each one in detail.
Get to know the great thinker!
Who actually are they as a person? What happened in their life that led them in a particular direction, and how and why did they come up with their ideas? If you can begin to know the thinker a little and understand how their ideas developed and from where, then their work begins to make much more sense.
Who were their key influences and what events helped shape them?
Ideas don't come from nowhere. They are prompted by the people we meet, our experiences in life, and specific paths we decide to take. By looking at the key influences in each great thinker's life, the creation and birth of their ideas and theories come to light. And by discovering the background to their thinking, we are able to more easily understand the ideas themselves.
Three key theories explained in detail, in plain English!
We didn’t want the books to try and cover everything in minimal detail. When you want to really understand an idea, you need depth and explanation! So we decided to choose three of the thinker's most important theories and explore each one in detail. But not just that. We wanted each book to be really accessible so that busy people, people new to the subject, or people just wondering ‘what the hell are they on about?’ could pick up a copy and ‘get it’! So no jargon, no assuming that the reader ‘knows their stuff’, just fluent, engaging, clear and accessible prose.
Consistency through the series
Each book follows the exact same ‘Who the Hell is...?’ structure. What this means is that the reader knows exactly what to expect – different authors, yes – but the same format, depth and quality of content and the same team of editors working closely together. This ensures continuity across the entire series so that each and every book is just as we want them.
View our books:
Philosophy
Politics
Psychology
Art History
