Animal
The long-standing, widely acclaimed Animal series explores the cultural and natural history of more than 100 animals. These wide-ranging, beautifully illustrated volumes explore their subjects in art, literature, mythology and religion, as well as its evolution, species, behaviour and habitat.
SERIES EDITOR: JONATHAN BURT
‘Reaktion’s wonderfully idiosyncratic Animal series’
– The New York Times
‘The series . . . calls itself “a new kind of animal history”. It is, splendidly, even brilliantly, so. I have nothing but praise for it’
– The Spectator
‘The Reaktion Animal series, now covering everything from albatrosses to zebras, explores the biological and cultural life of different species.’
– Times Higher Education
Botanical
The Botanical series is the first of its kind, integrating horticultural and botanical writing with a broader account of the cultural and social impact of trees, plants and flowers. Accessibly written yet encompassing the latest scholarship, each title features around 100 fine images, including c. 50 in colour.
‘An attractive, lavishly illustrated new series, perfect for house gifts if you’re visiting someone who’ll welcome you with clean towels and a trowel.’
– The New York Times
‘The new Botanical series by Reaktion – handsome small hardbacks printed on fat glossy paper, generously illustrated, clearly intended to be a pleasure to collect.’
– Gardens Illustrated
‘In the right hands book series can be very satisfying. Reaktion Books has developed several over recent years. One of these is the delightful series called Botanical.’
– New Scientist
Cityscopes
Cityscopes are concise, illustrated guides that provide an overview of a city’s past as well as a focused eye on its present. Written by authors with unique and intimate knowledge of the cities, each book features a chronological history to the present day.
Also including a section of essays on key places or aspects of the city today – from museums to music, public transport to parks, food to fashion – the books offer fascinating vignettes on the quintessential and the quirky, as well as listings of key sites and venues with the authors’ own commentaries. Illustrated throughout with contemporary photos and compelling historical images, Cityscopes are essential companions to cities worldwide.
Critical Lives
Critical Lives is a major series of short critical biographies that present the work of important cultural figures in the context of their lives. Each book relates and brings alive the life of the artist, writer, philosopher or architect in question and assesses their major works at the same time. The books in the series are accompanied by c. 20–40 illustrations.
‘Beautifully produced – very short critical biographies whose main target audience is likely to be undergraduates, but that will also do nicely for a general audience.’
– Times Literary Supplement
Dynasties
A series of substantial narrative histories that look at the genesis of dynasties, their dynamics and the derivation of power, demonstrating that history can be seen and reflected through the dynastic process and who or what ruling dynasties believed themselves to be. It seeks to put dynasties under discussion and reflection.
Earth
The Earth series traces the historical significance and cultural history of natural phenomena and resources. Written by experts who are passionate about their subject, books in the series bring together representations from mythology, religion, art, literature, science, popular culture, cinema and television, exploring and explaining the world around us in an exciting new way.
‘What a fantastic idea, science and culture brought down to earth. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.’
– David Bellamy
Edible
Edible is a revolutionary new series of books on food and drink which explores the rich history of man’s consumption. Each book provides an outline for one type of food or drink, revealing its history and culture on a global scale. 50 striking illustrations, with approximately 25 in colour, accompany these engaging and accessible texts, and offer intriguing new insights into their subject. Key recipes as well as reference material accompany each title.
SERIES EDITOR: ANDREW F. SMITH
Field Notes
A series of books providing in-depth analyses of today’s global turmoil as it unfolds. Each book focuses on an important feature of our present-day economic, political and cultural condition, addressing local and international issues. Field Notes examines the many dimensions of today’s social predicament and provides a radical, politically and critically engaged voice to global debates.
Published in association with the Brooklyn Rail
SERIES EDITOR: PAUL MATTICK
Food Controversies
Everybody eats. Yet few understand the importance of food in our lives and the decisions we make each time we eat. The Food Controversies series probes problems created by the industrial food system and examines proposed alternatives.
SERIES EDITOR: ANDREW F. SMITH
Foods and Nations
Foods and Nations explores the history – and geography – of food. Books in the series reveal the hidden history behind the food eaten today in different countries and regions of the world, telling the story of how food production and consumption developed, and how they were influenced by the culinary practices of other places and peoples. Each book in the Foods and Nations series offers fascinating insights into the distinct flavours of a country and its culture.
Great Lives of the Ancient World
Each book in the series succinctly explores the life, culture and lasting legacy of outstanding figures across the ancient world, including China, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and ancient Greece and Rome.
SERIES EDITOR: PAUL CARTLEDGE
Kosmos
A superb series exploring our expanding knowledge of the cosmos, investigating historical, contemporary and future developments. Illustrated with a wide variety of beautiful images, these informative books appeal to both scientists and a more general readership interested in observing and understanding outer space.
SERIES EDITOR: PETER MORRIS
‘Beautifully illustrated, history-rich and bang up to date.’
– Nature
Language Worlds
Language Worlds is a unique series that explores the cultural histories of the world’s languages as evolving expressions of human experience. Each volume traces a language’s journey across time – its origins and transformations in written and spoken form, and the communities that have shaped and sustained it. Language Worlds offers readers a vivid portrait of how languages both shape and are shaped by the societies that use them. Richly contextual and globally minded, the series invites readers to see languages not as static systems, but as dynamic sites of communication – each with its own rhythms, struggles and creative possibilities.
Lost Civilizations
The books in the Lost Civilizations series explore the rise and fall of the great civilizations and peoples of the ancient world. Each book considers not only the history but the art, culture and lasting legacy and examines why they remain important and relevant in our world today.
Medieval Lives
Covering one of the most fascinating yet misunderstood periods in history, the Medieval Lives series presents medieval people, concepts and events, drawing on political and social history, philosophy, material culture and the history of science. These books are wide-ranging and global in scope, tracing significant developments from the collapse of the Roman Empire to the fifteenth century.
SERIES EDITOR: DEIRDRE JACKSON
Renaissance Lives
Books in the Renaissance Lives series explore and illustrate the life histories and achievements of significant artists, intellectuals and scientists in the Early Modern world. They delve into literature, philosophy, the history of art, science and natural history and cover narratives of exploration, statecraft and technology.
SERIES EDITOR: FRANÇOIS QUIVIGER
Reverb
The Reverb series offers a new perspective on the significance of music through a wider cultural and historical understanding of particular times and places. By focusing on the relationship between artists, performers, music and place – rather than strictly biographical or chronological histories – the series allows writers with backgrounds in music writing, social and cultural history, ethnomusicology, literary studies, philosophy and geography to write books that reveal the ways in which music has, in a variety of genres and traditions, expressed a strong sense of place.
To learn more about the Reverb series click here.
Universe
The Universe series explores some of the most exciting topics in astrophysics and cosmology, explained by leading experts and active researchers in the field.
SERIES EDITOR: JAMES GEACH