Policy Press

Textbooks

Education is at the heart of our mission to make a difference. Our goal is to support students’ learning with materials that foster understanding, confidence and skills.

Take a look at our textbooks below or browse by subject.

We have more resources, including free journal articles and Open Access titles, available on our student resources page.

All our books are available on e-inspection for lecturers who want to consider the title(s) for use on their course reading lists. You can order an e-inspection copy here. Click ‘Request Access’ and then use the search function to request a digital sample copy of our titles. You will need to create a username and password to access your book(s).

Read our terms and conditions here.

Fill out the inspection copy survey

Don’t forget, if you sign up to our newsletter you will receive a discount on books purchased on our website.

Showing 13-24 of 279 items.

What is professional social work?

What is Professional Social Work? is a now classic analysis of social work as a discourse between three aspects of practice: social order, therapeutic and transformational perspectives. It enables social workers to analyse and value the role of social work in present-day multiprofessional social care.

Policy Press

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.

Policy Press

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.

Policy Press

US Foreign Policy

Domestic Roots and International Impact

This textbook provides a valuable introduction to the construction and application of US foreign policy in the modern era, encouraging readers to think about how ideas, institutions and goals have been at work in the foreign policy of recent presidential administrations.

Bristol Uni Press

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.

Policy Press

Urban Informality

An Introduction

This book provides an introductory overview to the concept of ‘urban informality’, taking an international perspective across the global North and South. It explores theoretical understandings of the term, and looks at how it affects ways of living, such as land use, housing and basic services, working lives and political informality.

Bristol Uni Press

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.

Policy Press

Understanding UK-EU Relations

A Concise Introduction

This new edition of the previously published Understanding Brexit provides a comprehensive yet accessible account of the UK’s relationship with the EU, including the challenges faced by both state and society in the aftermath of Brexit.

Bristol Uni Press

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.

Policy Press

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.

Policy Press

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.

Policy Press