About the Press

The house

The Press publishes history and sociology, computer science and the mathematics of machines, physics and chemistry at every level, biology, medicine with a particular devotion to pathology, the history of science, political science, law, and economic theory.

It descends from a simple conviction of the Scottish Enlightenment: that a general reader of goodwill can be brought to the real thing, the full derivation, the complete text, the original plate, if the printing is done with care.

Editorial principles

Full derivations are the book. No equation retreats to a stated result; no proof is left to the reader who was promised one.

A title carries its materials. Where an edition has solutions, datasets, plates, recordings or errata, they belong to it and are listed on the book’s own page.

Translation is restoration. A rendering more than fifty years old is treated as out of print, and the work is commissioned anew from the original language.

The instrument belongs in the text. Where a number is computed, the key-sequence that computes it is printed beside the mathematics.

Ordering and delivery

Choosing. Each book has a page of its own, which lists the editions in which it exists and the price of each. Paperbacks and hardbacks are bought from the Press on that page. Kindle editions are sold by Amazon, and the page leads you there.

Paying. The till takes credit and debit cards on the secure pages of Stripe, and Pix through a Brazilian bank. The Press never sees or stores a card number. Prices are in United States dollars; the amount in reais is shown for Pix. Carriage depends upon the destination and is shown before you pay.

Printing. The Press keeps no warehouse. Each copy is printed to order by Lulu, which ordinarily takes a few working days, and is sent from the printer directly to the address you give.

Delivery. The time in the post depends upon the destination and the carrier. For parcels to Brazil, Chile and Mexico the customs authorities require the recipient’s tax number, which the till asks for. Any import duty is collected by the country of destination.

If something is wrong. A copy that arrives damaged or faulty is replaced or refunded in full. You may also cancel within fourteen days of receiving a book. The terms of sale set this out.

Correspondence

Orders, enquiries from the trade, manuscripts and proposals for translation may be sent to the Press at richard@scottishsciencesociety.org.