In The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature, Steven Pinker looks at how the relationship between words and thoughts can help us understand who we are.

Why do so many swear words involve topics like sex, bodily functions or the divine? Why do some children's names thrive while others fall out of favour? Why do we threaten and bribe and seduce in such elaborate, often comical ways? How can a choice of metaphor damn a politician or start a war? And why do we rarely say what we actually mean?

Language, as Steven Pinker shows, is at the heart of our lives, and through the way we use it - whether to inform, persuade, entertain or manipulate - we can glimpse the very essence of what makes us human.

'Awesome'
Daily Mail

'Highly entertaining ... funny and thought-provoking'
The Times

'Anyone interested in language should read The Stuff of Thought ... moments of genuine revelation and some very good jokes'
Mark Haddon, Sunday Telegraph Books of the Year

'No one writes about language as clearly as Steven Pinker, and this is his best book yet'
David Crystal, Financial Times

Steven Pinker is the Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. Until 2003, he taught in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT. He conducts research on language and cognition, writes for publications such as The New York Times, Time and Slate, and is the author of six books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works and The Blank Slate.

About the Author
Steven Pinker is one of the world's most influential thinkers and writers on the human condition. His popular and highly praised books include The Better Angels of Our Nature, The Sense of Style, The Stuff of Thought, The Blank Slate, How the Mind Works, and The Language Instinct. The recipient of several major awards for his teaching, books, and scientific research, Pinker is Harvard College Professor and Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He also writes frequently for The New York Times, the Guardian and other publications. He has been named Humanist of the Year, Prospect magazine's "The World's Top 100 Public Intellectuals," Foreign Policy's "100 Global Thinkers," and Time magazine's "The 100 Most Influential People in the World Today."

Reviews
Astonishingly readable * Daily Telegraph *
Perceptive, amusing and intelligent * Times *
No one writes about language as clearly as Steven Pinker, and this is his best book yet * Financial Times *
Immensely readable and stimulating. Pinker is a master at making complex ideas palatable * Independent *
Awesome ... Pinker writes lucidly and elegantly, and leavens the text with scores of perfectly judged anecdotes, jokes, cartoons and illustrations * Daily Mail *



Book Information
ISBN 9780141015477
Author Steven Pinker
Format Paperback
Page Count 512
Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 353g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 22mm