W. W. Norton & Company inaugurates a new century of visionary independent publishing with Norton Shorts. Written by leading-edge scholars, these eye-opening books deliver bold thinking and fresh perspectives in fewer than 200 pages.  

A perfect fit for college courses, each Norton Shorts title features resources to help instructors enrich course material. Browse by discipline and request a digital examination copy below. 

Explorers

A New History

by Matthew Lockwood

The impulse to seek out new worlds is universal to humanity.

In a truly inclusive account of exploration, historian Matthew Lockwood interweaves stories of famous figures—including Sacagawea, Pocahontas, and Dr. David Livingstone—with tales of individuals who are usually denied the title “explorer.” Lockwood’s new cast of adventurers features figures often excluded from Western focused narratives on the early rise of globalization. Lockwood delves into the histories of Rabban Bar Ṣawma, a Uighur monk who traversed the Middle East and Europe; Yasuke, an East African traveler to Japan during the sixteenth century; and David Dorr, a man born in slavery whose travelogues reshaped Americans’ understanding of the African continent. As an assistant professor of history at The University of Alabama, where Lockwood teaches on the Age of Exploration and Conquest, he brings critical context readers need to reevaluate their understanding of how our modern world was shaped by early explorations. This intrepid re-imagining of our global past is vital for courses in histories of Western civilization or world history; exploration and empire; and more. 

KEY TOPICS ● exploration; travel and travelogues; indigenous knowledge of the environment; histories of natural science and geography; world history 

Offshore

Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism

by Brooke Harrington

This eye-opening account of offshore finance reveals how a shadowy global system is fueling economic crises while also corroding democracy, capitalism, and the environment.

Sociologist Brooke Harrington trained as an offshore wealth manager then spent years immersed in tax havens around the world as part of an ethnographic study, observing and interviewing the experts who keep the secrets and protect the fortunes of the global ultra-rich. She highlights what offshore finance costs us all and how it has enabled the world’s billionaires to colonize the world. As politicians struggle to address the deepening economic and political inequality destabilizing the world, Harrington’s exposé of the offshore system helps students understand the most pressing crises of our time. This engrossing deep dive into the hidden realm of offshore finance is perfect for courses on economic sociology, globalization, and social inequality.

KEY TOPICS ● immersion ethnography; economic sociology; power elite; colonialism; tax havens; financial crimes; wealth inequality

The Trafficker Next Door

How Household Employers Exploit Domestic Workers

by Rhacel Salazar Parreñas

A renowned sociologist examines the pernicious societal forces that lead employers to exploit vulnerable domestic workers. The phrase “human trafficking” often conjures nightmarish images of sexual exploitation, but Rhacel Salazar Parreñas reveals that the vast majority of trafficking victims are domestic workers who suffer abuse not at the hands of shadowy crime lords but rather “ordinary” people. Drawing on twenty years of groundbreaking research across three continents, Parreñas exposes the grim realities faced by migrant workers ensnared in forced labor due to poverty and debt bondage. She uncovers how entrenched social and legal norms, coupled with a pernicious “employer savior complex,” foster a troubling sense of ownership among employers over “their” domestic workers. Parreñas’s urgent narrative challenges readers to confront uncomfortable truths about everyday household arrangements and calls for justice and fair treatment for all workers. The Trafficker Next Door will be great for courses on social problems and social inequality as well as sociology courses on work, gender, and globalization.

KEY TOPICS ● human trafficking; forced labor; migrant workers; care work; ethnography; globalization

Sex Beyond "Yes"

Pleasure and Agency for Everyone

by Quill R Kukla

paragraph

In Sex Beyond “Yes”, philosopher Quill R. Kukla challenges the idea that consent alone can define ethical sex, arguing that this binary framework oversimplifies the complex realities of sexual agency. They examine scenarios shaped by intoxication, aging, social pressure, and power imbalances—ranging from sex work and dementia to kink and everyday encounters—to show that agency often goes beyond a simple “yes” or “no.” Kukla calls for a more nuanced, human-centered approach to sexual ethics, one grounded in honest communication, mutual respect, and the often messy dynamics of intimacy and pleasure. With a mix of sharp critique and deep empathy, they offer a bold rethinking of what it means to have ethical, fulfilling sex. This Norton Short would be well suited for courses such as Philosophy of Love and Sex, Ethics of Intimacy, and Gender, Sexuality, and Philosophy.

KEY TOPICS ● Philosophy of love and sex; sexual ethics; sexual agency; Consent; pleasure, power, and social dynamics

Fear Less

Poetry in Perilous Times

by Tracy K Smith

The Pulitzer Prize–winning poet reveals how poetry is a powerful tool of connection and understanding in a fractured world.

Drawing on deep passion and personal experience, former US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith demystifies the art form that has too often been mischaracterized as “inaccessible,” “irrelevant,” or “intimidating.” She argues that poetry is rooted in fundamentally human qualities innate to our capacities to love, dream, question, and engage across diverse cultures and backgrounds, and she shows how reading and writing poetry can allow us to confront uncertainty and loss, build connections with strangers, and better understand ourselves. Grounding readers in the technical elements of the craft, Smith provides in-depth analysis of her own creative process as well as close readings of works by contemporary poets such as Joy Harjo, Danez Smith, and Francisco Márquez alongside classic poems by Dickinson, Keats, Millay, and others. An essential text for courses on poetry, composition, and literary criticism, Fear Less is a warm invitation to find meaning, consolation, and hope through poems.

KEY TOPICS ●  poetry, literary criticism, listening, community, compassion, grief and loss

The Moral Circle

Who Matters, What Matters, and Why

by Jeff Sebo

A philosopher calls for a revolution in ethics, suggesting we expand our “moral circle” to include insects, microbes, and even AI systems.

In The Moral Circle, philosopher Jeff Sebo challenges human exceptionalism and urges us to expand our moral community to include all potentially significant beings. While humanity prioritizes its own interests, we exploit billions of animals and plan to use AI systems and other nonhumans at even greater scales in the future. Through compelling case studies—such as lawsuits over captive elephants, factory-farmed insects, and debates about sending microbes to other planets or creating virtual worlds with digital minds—Sebo explores urgent ethical questions about which nonhumans matter and what we owe them. He argues that building a better future requires shedding human exceptionalism and rethinking our responsibilities in a world transformed by human activity and technology. Ideal for courses in ethics, animal ethics, and applied moral philosophy.

KEY TOPICS ● animal welfare and exploitation; human exceptionalism; moral inclusion; future ethical dilemmas

What's Real about Race?

Untangling Science, Genetics, and Society

by Rina Bliss

Acclaimed sociologist Dr. Rina Bliss debunks society’s closely held beliefs on race, genetics, and our collective identity as a species.

In deeply researched, masterful prose, sociologist Dr. Rina Bliss guides us through the invention and evolution of the concept of race. She reveals how the myth of distinct, biological races endures in medicine, science, and social policy—warping our understanding of complex topics like intelligence, disease susceptibility, and behavior. By looking at the science behind our perceived differences, Dr. Bliss empowers readers to confront their own biases and the systems that perpetuate harmful assumptions in order to continue subjugation based on the concept of race. At a time when misinformation about our bodies and identities is dangerously prevalent, Bliss unmasks what’s truly real about race: namely, racism’s impact on our bodies and lives.

KEY TOPICS ● race; genetics; epigentics; systemic racism, social problems

Fewer Rules, Better People

The Case for Discretion

by Barry Lam

A leading public philosopher argues that the relentless expansion of rules and mandates not only constrains us but also diminishes our intelligence, corrodes our moral integrity, undermines honesty, and weakens our capacity to govern the institutions that matter most.

In Fewer Rules, Better People, philosopher Barry Lam explores the complex role of discretion in decision-making, from parenting and policing to courtroom judgments. While discretion can produce flawed and biased outcomes, Lam argues that removing it—through rigid rules or AI-based enforcement—leads to even greater injustices, such as corrupted systems, institutionalized dishonesty, and arbitrary results. Reframing debates about justice and ethics, Lam makes a compelling case for the necessity of human judgment, even in its imperfection, and warns against the dangers of “perfect,” discretion-free enforcement by technology. An excellent choice for courses in political philosophy, philosophy of law, social and political ethics, and contemporary issues in philosophy.

KEY TOPICS ● bias; rules; discretion; fairness; the role of AI in decision-making

Sociology

Composition/Literature