David Birch retired in 2010 from a University career in Linguistics and Communication Studies. He initially trained as a Medievalist, completing an Honours dissertation on the language of the 14th Century English Mystics, and a DPhil on the polemical writings of St Thomas More. He now lives as eremitical a life as possible.

David Birch's Provocations: Philosophy for secondary school will help teachers to present ideas and stimulate discussions which both accommodate and engage adolescent appetites.