Policy Press

General non-fiction

We publish serious non-fiction social commentary and debate for a wide audience. These high quality books are written by academics, professionals and other experts in an accessible way bringing key issues of social, political and cultural significance to a wide readership. These books have an impact: advancing knowledge, raising awareness and encouraging social change.

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Showing 1-12 of 124 items.

What Is Anthropology For?

Should the line be maintained between nature and cultural, the biological and the informational, the human and the planetary? Kriti Kapila argues that anthropology provides an essential set of tools for analysing our social reality and makes a case for its unique insights into our human connection, relatedness and exchange.

Bristol Uni Press

Stinking Rich

The Four Myths of the Good Billionaire

Bristol Uni Press

The Kindness Fix

How and why we must build a more compassionate society

The help we give to others can be more effective and more just if we cultivate greater levels of compassion. Jason Wood reviews the research and talks to experts from across the world to make the moving case for greater compassion in public life.

Policy Press

What Is Counterterrorism For?

Focusing on the costs of counterterrorism, this book takes a global view to understand what is done in the name of our safety.

Bristol Uni Press

What Are Zoos For?

Heather Browning and Walter Veit test the common justifications for zoos (entertainment, education, research, conservation) against the evidence and suggest what the best zoos of the future should look like to ensure that they are primarily for animals and not just for people.

Bristol Uni Press

Ricardo’s Dream

How Economists Forgot the Real World and Led Us Astray

Ricardo’s Dream tells the fascinating story of David Ricardo, Adam Smith’s only real rival as the ‘founder of economics’: who introduced the study of abstract models to economics. He also developed the theory of trade that underpinned globalization and hides a history of power, empire and slavery.

Bristol Uni Press

Peak Injustice

Solving Britain’s Inequality Crisis

Peak Injustice follows up the best-selling Peak Inequality (2018), offering a carefully curated selection of Danny Dorling’s latest published writing with brand new content looking to the future, including challenges for a new government in 2024/25. An essential addition to readers’ Dorling collections.

Policy Press

Changemakers

Radical Strategies for Social Movement Organising

This book takes personal stories of activity in the animal rights, environmental, trade union, community and social justice spheres and uses them to engage with ideas emerging from social movement theory.

Policy Press

Lessons in Diplomacy

Politics, Power and Parties

Leigh Turner's witty globe-trotting adventure through one of the most intriguing careers a person can have offers astute reflections on Brexit, Russia’s War with Ukraine and the chaos of modern politics, shedding new light on the intricacies of modern statecraft, including what we all can learn from a good diplomat or ambassador.

Policy Press

Austerity Bites 10 Years On

A Journey to the Sharp End of Cuts in the UK

With new commentary, Austerity Bites 10 Years On assesses on the true scale of the damage austerity policies have inflicted on the country’s most vulnerable groups, public institutions and on the wider society, reflecting on where we have been, where we are now and what needs to happen next to undo the damage and avoid the same mistakes again.

Policy Press

What Is Veganism For?

Catherine Oliver shows why the veganism movement has become a powerful social, political and environmental force. She discusses the health and environmental benefits of veganism, explores the practical and social impacts of the shift to eating plants, and explains why veganism is not just a diet, but a way of life.

Bristol Uni Press

What Are Museums For?

Museums today are a cultural battleground. Jon Sleigh maintains that museums must be for all people and inclusion must be at the heart of everything they do. He uses museum objects from different museums to explore trust-building, representation, digital access, conflicting narratives, removal from display and restitution.

Bristol Uni Press