Micro-post #201: The "Big Ideas Simply Explained" series from Dorling-Kindersley
- A.B.
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
First things first: this is not a paid advertisement. I've actually been collecting these books for 15 years now (since the first one, 2011's The Philosophy Book, came out). Yet I can't help but recommend them highly, at least for most of the subjects they cover. Since it's Pride Month and I've been thumbing through The LGBTQ+ History Book to gather possible post ideas, I figure now is as good a time to make a short post with links to the ones I'd suggest either starting with or checking out on their own. A couple of caveats, though...
My collection of these books (taken by me)
These books are just introduction guides, helpful to wade into the subjects they cover. A major complaint I see in reviews is about how they're "a mile wide, but an inch deep." That's the whole purpose of them. They allow for a beginner to have some short essays and graphics to get the ball rolling, hopefully spurring the reader to dig deeper on their own now that they have some grasp on the basics.
Not all of them are made equal. Most of the academic field ones are reasonably solid (though I've seen some mistakes and typos here and there), the series also covers topics that don't always match the rest (examples being The Crime Book and The Movie Book). Mileage may vary with quality but I would caution you all about the branded books that look/feel similar but aren't part of the main series. The Star Trek Book is decent but the ones on Marvel, DC Comics, and Star Wars are more promotional merchandise than anything else...
Try to get either the hardcovers or the paperback editions if possible. I've always found the e-books to have some sort of issues (typos, missing pages, odd font) that I'd be salty about having them if I had paid the full price for them instead of getting them on sale.
Anyways, if you've never seen them (which would be weird, since they're all over the place these days!) and want some samples, check out the links below since the publisher likes to provide sample pages as a taster. The ones I'm linking after the second pic are the volumes I enjoy the most and peruse through often.
The rest of my collection (taken by me)
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