It is joy to unearth such a treasure as this. It includes terms ranging from Aristotle to Zeno’s paradox; cybernetics to semiotics; Darwinism to feminism; capitalism to anarchism.

It is an up-to-date guide, with special emphasis on women’s impact on the history of ideas. Entries are long enough to enlighten, but short enough to digest.

A particular strength of this dictionary is its plain English and genuine accessibility or students and teachers. It contains more than 2,000 key words and concepts, which are highlighted and cross-referenced.

References are drawn from a wide range of fields, including philosophy, religion, psychology, economics, politics, history and art. These enable students to clarify the meaning, context and history of terms.

For AS and A-level students interested in the importance of ideas, this reference book will become a much-thumbed text in schools’ learning resource centres.

John Waters