{"product_id":"speech-how-language-made-us-human-9781916893511","title":"SPEECH! How Language Made Us Human","description":"\u003cb\u003ePraise from STEPHEN FRY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e: \"A book to make you cry out 'Yes, yes, yes!' SPEECH! is an utterly enthralling voyage into the very heart of what makes us human. To put it simply, Simon Prentis \u003cb\u003egets it\u003c\/b\u003e. He gets that language is, above everything else, the key to understanding ourselves, our past and our future. But he gets something else too - fascinating, illuminating, thrilling as his voyage may be, it is above all \u003cb\u003eurgent\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Stands alongside works by Steven Pinker and James Lovelock as a 'must-read' for our times.\" - \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eJOHN GRIBBIN\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"I couldn't stop reading until I finished it. This book should be widely read!\" - \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eJAMES LOVELOCK\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"I'm glad to have read it. A literate and stylish writer.\"\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e-\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cb\u003eRICHARD DAWKINS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Subtle, erudite and profoundly thought-provoking.\" - \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eNICHOLAS CRANE\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Such an imaginative and scholarly work.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e- \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eSIR ANTHONY SELDON\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Reading for both pleasure and research.\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e- \u003cb\u003eRICKY GERVAIS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Bravo! A compelling read.\"\u003c\/i\u003e - \u003cb\u003eYOKO ONO LENNON\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"I think you're right.\" - \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eSTEVEN PINKER\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhat makes us human? Why are we the only animals who wear clothes, surf social media, and send robots to Mars? It's all because we've learnt to talk: yet remarkably, we still don't know how we did it. \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSPEECH!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e suggests an answer that's been hiding in plain sight - a simple yet radical shift that turned our primitive grunts and shrieks to words. But the consequences were far from simple, for language was an evolutionary tipping point: it gave us the power to share ideas and pass on knowledge. \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSPEECH! \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003etraces our roller-coaster ride from hunter-gatherer to urban hipster: the epic tale of humanity's struggle to escape the traps of culture, religion and identity - a journey that leaves us poised on the brink of a destiny we may still resist, but must now embrace if we wish to survive... \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the author\u003c\/b\u003e: Simon Prentis has spent a lifetime working with other cultures and languages in over fifty countries. A veteran translator and interpreter of Japanese, his clients have ranged from government departments and academic and international institutions to cultural icons like Paul McCartney, Stanley Kubrick, Frank Zappa and Yoko Ono.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Hogsaloft","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50497333952786,"sku":"9781916893511","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_8dbbba7a-1d36-4ec3-84cc-f1bb74488402.jpg?v=1730711409","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/speech-how-language-made-us-human-9781916893511","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}