This book brings together twelve authors who look at the concept of the "word" from several different perspectives, inspiring in the reader a sense of wonder - to think of the lowly word, which we toss away in yesterday's newspaper, which we ignore on street signs, which we utter without giving a thought to the consequences of the power carried by the word. Moving from a psycholinguist explanation of the acquisition of language, the volume presents the function of the word in "bad" jokes, in...