30 Second

Who invented photography first, Fox Talbot or Louis Daguerre? Who got the patent? Who made the most money? Who are the greatest photographers and what have their contributions been? This book takes the 50 most important aspects of photography—both the major styles and the key technical aspects that make them possible—and explains each in two pages, 300 words and one picture. The book also includes six profiles of the greatest names in the history of photography and shares their contributions. Whether you pick it up for 30-seconds at a time or read it from cover-to-cover, this book is guaranteed to have you thinking about your own and other people's photography in a whole new way.

In the West, the story of Ancient China is less familiar to us than that of Ancient Egypt or Rome, but it is no less absorbing, and its rollcall of achievements is easily as impressive. 30-Second Ancient China unlocks the secrets of its Bronze Age glories and offers summaries of everything from the lost cities of the Zhou kings and the elaborate oracle-bone rituals that were practiced at their courts to the exquisite bronze vessels that gave the age its name, and the birth of Confucianism. Add topics dealing with everyday life in Ancient China, and succinct biographies of some powerful figures from Wu Ding, king of the Shang, to Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War, the first ever treatise on military strategy and 30-Second Ancient China becomes the perfect introduction to one of the great ancient civilizations.

The bestselling “30-Second” series takes a revolutionary approach to learning about those subjects you feel you should really understand. Each title selects a popular topic and dissects it into the 50 most significant ideas at its heart. Every idea, no matter how complex, is explained in 300 words and one image, all digestible in just 30 seconds. “30-Second Shakespeare” uses this unique approach to grapple with the world’s most famous playwright. From what we know of his life and the intrigue of the authorship question, to uncoding the meanings of key concepts, themes and motifs, and the Bards extraordinary enduring literary and linguistic legacy.

The bestselling “30-Second” series takes a revolutionary approach to learning about those subjects you feel you should really understand. Each title selects a popular topic and dissects it into the 50 most significant ideas at its heart. Every idea, no matter how complex, is explained in 300 words and one image, all digestible in just 30 seconds. “30-Second Wine” uses this unique approach to decant the subject for everyone. Compiled by wine experts, not elites, this beginners guide serves up all you need to read the message in the bottle in 50 small sips or rather, a mere 300 words and one picture. Here’s how to enjoy wine without the waffle, all the way from Appellations of the old world to Zinfandel of the new.

You know that Rome wasn’t built in a day, but just how did a cluster of small hilltop villages expand to become one of the greatest empires in history? Why did Romulus kill his brother Remus? How was a legion organized? Did people really speak Latin? What entertainment could you see at the Colosseum? And what was daily life like for a Roman citizen? This book takes a novel approach to answering all these questions and more. 30-Second Ancient Rome presents a unique insight into one of the most brilliantly governed societies, where military might, and expansive empire paved the way for technological advances that helped shape our modern existence. From aqueducts to sewers, from mosaics to medical diagnoses, this is the straightest road toward understanding the 50 key innovations and ideas that developed and defined one of the world’s great civilizations.

If you only have 30 seconds, there is time using this book to make sense of the science behind the seeming vagaries of the weather, the controversies, predictions and forecasts for climate change that shape our day-to-day experiences of the great outdoors. Ever since Aristotle first tried to explain the forces that seem to fall from the heavens, meteorology has opened up the study of weather, and caused disputes over the reasons why seasons change, where precipitation falls, why winds blow and when the sun shines. From halcyon days to hurricanes, super cells to silver linings, global warming to giant hailstones, here is the ultimate guide to a near universal preoccupation: what’s the weather like?

The 50 most important structures and systems in the human body, each explained in half a minute. The bestselling 30-Second series offers a new approach to learning about those subjects you feel you should really understand. Every title takes a popular topic and dissects it into the 50 most significant ideas at its heart. Each idea, no matter how complex, is explained using a mere two pages, 300 words, and one picture: all easily digested in only half a minute. 30-Second Anatomy offers you an instant diagnosis of how your body works. Whether youre a medical student, an artist, a body worker, or simply want to know what your doctor is talking about when he mentions your humerus, this is the quickest way to get under your own skin. Dissecting the workings of everything from your heart to your brain into 30-second summaries, this is the quickest way to understand the structures and systems that are you. Supported by biographies of the pioneers in anatomy studies, its the book that would have kept Burke and Hare home at night.

The successful “30-Second” series tackles biochemistry, the science of the chemical processes which underpin the workings of all organic life. 30-Second Biochemistry takes 50 of the most significant ideas relating to the study of the chemical processes connected to living organisms, simplifying each concept using just 300 words and one picture. By using chemical procedures to tackle biological challenges, biochemistry reveals the behaviour of complex molecules and how they combine to form the building blocks of life. Through this book you will gain a clear understanding of a fascinating area of science, embarking on a journey that reveals how new life is created, the path molecules take to develop from microscopic cells into complete organisms and how energy is harvested and harnessed to help organisms function efficiently. Have all the key terms of this fascinating science explained in simple, bitesize chunks of information-rich text, as well as meeting the key figures who have helped make biochemistry what it is today.

The bestselling “30-Second” series takes a revolutionary approach to learning about those subjects you feel you should really understand. Each title selects a popular topic and dissects it into the 50 most significant ideas at its heart. Every idea, no matter how complex, is explained in 300 words and one picture, all digestible in 30 seconds. “30-Second Leonardo da Vinci” uses this unique approach to grapple with the truly diverse thoughts of the ultimate Renaissance Man. Artist, anatomist, sculptor, inventor, architect, cartographer, mathematician, musician, botanist, geologist the word polymath does not quite do Leonardo justice. The painter of the Mona Lisa and conceptualizer of the helicopter seems like a Renaissance superhero. Here, the world’s leading Leonardo scholars present an instant and expert guide to the breadth and brilliance of his greatest innovations.

The successful “30-Second” series tackles coding, the science of programming the technology which operates in almost every aspect of modern life. Computer code operates behind nearly everything we do—from small calculations in the home to complex executions that drive the global economy. It influences who we see, follow, and like online and describes the websites we visit, the connections between them, the sounds heard on Spotify and videos watched on YouTube. There is very little we do which hasn't, in some way, been codified, analysed, and computed electronically, yet few of us possess a basic understanding of that ultimate language barrier. That's a shame, because coding is the key to so much. Simple programming concepts can explain plenty about the modern world and the changes to come in the age of AI. With insightful text edited by computer scientist and technology podcaster Mark Steadman and contributions from other industry experts, learn the origins of computer code, from the first computers developed in during the Industrial Revolution, through the codebreaking machines used during World War II to the hyperfast computers of the present day. Have all the key terms of this fascinating science explained in simple, bitesize chunks of information-rich text, as well as meeting the key figures who have helped make computer science what it is today. From algorithms and scripts to block-chain, bits and bots, turn to “30-Second Codingt” to reveal the secrets behind this fascinating subject.