Reed Library has an extensive
collection of
Very Short Introductions published by Oxford University Press. These books provide succinct introductions (usually under 200 pages) to hundreds of subjects.
Explore the full collection or those available online!
It is always a good idea to do some preliminary research, or background research, to help familiarize yourself with a new topic. Reference works, such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, almanacs, etc., are great places to start. The resources provided here are just a sampling and not an exhaustive list of resources you could consult.
Use these as alternatives to Wikipedia:
"Wikipedia is a multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project based on an openly editable model." - Wikipedia
Wikipedia is one of the most popular reference websites online, with millions of visitors every month. There are more than 19 million articles and 82.000 active contributors.
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