Textbooks
Policy Press publishes a range of textbooks and other learning resources across the social sciences to suit a variety of course and learning needs. These are designed with students in mind and include many accessible features – from case studies and chapter summaries, to revision questions and illustrative boxes and diagrams.
The majority of our textbooks are available as consumer eBooks as well as in print and we are happy to discuss bespoke options such as print and digital packages or creating unique collections to suit your course needs. Our content is available through the key institutional content providers VitalSource and Kortext in early 2015, allowing seamless integration with VLE platforms. If you would like to discuss how we could help with your course resources, please contact pp-sales@bristol.ac.uk.
For more information about our textbooks, please see Information for Lecturers.
The Well-Connected Community
A Networking Approach to Community Development
There is a growing recognition of the importance of networking for the vitality and cohesion of community life. Now in its third edition, and substantially updated, this textbook combines practical experience and theory for people working with and for communities.
Using Theory to Explore Health, Medicine and Society
This student-friendly textbook uses theoretical perspectives to bring to life social theories relating to health and illness. including binge drinking, obesity, the prominence of therapy and the search for happiness.
Urban reflections
Narratives of place, planning and change
Drawing on geographical, cinematic and photographic readings, this unique book looks at how places change, the role of planners in bringing about urban change, and the public's attitudes to that change.
Unequal Health
The Scandal of Our Times
This book shows conclusively that inequalities in health are the scandal of our times in the most unequal of rich nations and calls for immediate action to reduce these inequalities in the near future.
Understanding theories and concepts in social policy
This lively textbook, part of the successful Understanding Welfare series, helps us to understand policy, politics and practice. It combines an in-depth exploration of selected theoretical perspectives and concepts with a student-friendly format.
Understanding Theories and Concepts in Social Policy
Demonstrating the relevance of theory to political and policy debates and practice, this dynamic and fully updated second edition helps students to grasp the real-life implications of social policy theory. It includes a new chapter featuring debates around disability, sexuality and the environment.
Understanding the policy process
Analysing welfare policy and practice
Using core concepts of policy analysis "Understanding the policy process" builds up a full explanation of social policy change that can be applied to any aspect of welfare policy, public and social policy. This second edition of the book updates the first edition for the post-Blair era with international case studies from numerous countries.
Understanding the Mixed Economy of Welfare
This updated edition, written by social policy and welfare experts, shows how the mixed economy of welfare links with the important conceptual and policy debates.
Understanding the mixed economy of welfare
Although state provision may have dominated in Britain since 1945, there is a growing movement towards welfare pluralism - a mixed economy of welfare - involving private, voluntary and informal sectors. This book, written by social policy and welfare experts, sheds light on this neglected area of social policy.
Understanding the environment and social policy
Using an international and multi-disciplinary approach, this book provides a timely overview of the current issues in environmentalism and social policy. It explores many current debates, including: cities, housing and transport; citizenship and care; employment and green jobs; environmental governance and legislation; and globalisation.
Understanding the Cost of Welfare
A substantial, authoritative, third edition of this important textbook about the impact of economic priorities and pressures on social policies at a time when neo-liberal arguments for reducing the burden of welfare are more dominant than ever before.
Understanding social welfare movements
"Understanding social welfare movements" is the first text to bring together social policy and social movement studies. The book provides a timely and much needed overview of the changing nature of social welfare as it has been shaped by the demands of social movements.