The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature

The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature
by Steven Pinker

List Price: ~~$16.00~~
Our Price: $9.00
You Save: $7.00 (44%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Compare Prices for The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature

Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Steven Pinker
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-08-26
ISBN: 0143114247
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Book Reviews of The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature

Book Review: Why only three stars?
Summary: 3 Stars

"The Stuff of Thought", by Steven Pinker, really is an excellent book. Okay...so why then only three stars? Primarily because the cover, as well as the marketing for of this book, fails to include the following warning: "For the Serious Linguist and Student of American English Grammar Only." I love books on the history, the roots, and sheer insanity of the English language, especially American English, and couldn't wait to get my hands on Pinker's book. However, not long after I enthusiastically stretched out in anticipation with my cup of coffee and began to read "The Stuff of Thought", I found myself immersed in post traumatic recall of high school English composition, which I nearly flunked. If you cannot remember the subtle distinctions associated with the various tenses of verbs, the rules governing the use of participles, and the academic differences between "its" and "it's", then you're much better off sticking with Bill Bryson's uproariously funny "Made in America: an informal history of the English language in the United States." But, if you are my high school English composition instructor or are getting your doctorate in neurolinguistic programming, then by all means read "The Stuff of Thought", after which you can record here what you thought.

Write your own review

More The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Summary of The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature

This New York Times bestseller is an exciting and fearless investigation of language

Bestselling author Steven Pinker possesses that rare combination of scientific aptitude and verbal eloquence that enables him to provide lucid explanations of deep and powerful ideas. His previous books-including the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Blank Slate-have catapulted him into the limelight as one of today's most important popular science writers. In The Stuff of Thought, Pinker presents a fascinating look at how our words explain our nature. Considering scientific questions with examples from everyday life, The Stuff of Thought is a brilliantly crafted and highly readable work that will appeal to fans of everything from The Selfish Gene and Blink to Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

Personality Books

Book Subjects

Most talked about in Effective Thinking

The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature
by Steven Pinker
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2003-08-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.75
Price in other shops: ~~$16.00~~

How the Mind Works
by Steven Pinker
W.W. Norton & Co.; Published: 2009-06-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.78
Price in other shops: ~~$18.95~~

The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language (P.S.)
by Steven Pinker
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2007-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.05
Price in other shops: ~~$15.99~~

The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature
by Steven Pinker
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2008-08-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops: ~~$16.00~~

The Strategy of Conflict
by Thomas C. Schelling
Harvard University Press; Published: 1981-05-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $20.50
Price in other shops: ~~$26.50~~

Micromotives and Macrobehavior
by Thomas Schelling
W.W. Norton & Co.; Published: 2006-10-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.23
Price in other shops: ~~$17.95~~

Choice and Consequence
by Thomas C. Schelling
Harvard University Press; Published: 1985-10-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.00
Price in other shops: ~~$28.00~~

The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
by William Strunk Jr., E. B. White
Longman; Published: 1999-08-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.87
Price in other shops: ~~$9.95~~

On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
by William Zinsser
Collins; Published: 2006-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.76
Price in other shops: ~~$14.99~~

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials)
by Robert B. Cialdini
Collins Business; Published: 2007-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.76
Price in other shops: ~~$17.99~~

Similar Books and other products

The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition--with a new Introduction by the Author
by Richard Dawkins
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2006-05-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.85
Price in other shops: ~~$19.95~~

Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain
by Maryanne Wolf
Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.36
Price in other shops: ~~$14.95~~

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
by Dan Ariely
HarperCollins; Published: 2008-02-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops: ~~$25.95~~

The Accidental Mind: How Brain Evolution Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams, and God Image

The Accidental Mind: How Brain Evolution Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams, and God
by David J. Linden
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press; Published: 2008-12-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.17
Price in other shops: ~~$17.95~~

Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language
by Steven Pinker
Harper Perennial; Published: 2000-01-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.55
Price in other shops: ~~$15.00~~

The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language
by Christine Kenneally
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2008-05-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.99
Price in other shops: ~~$16.00~~

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Revised and Expanded Edition
by Oliver Sacks
Vintage; Published: 2008-09-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.25
Price in other shops: ~~$14.95~~