If the criterion of interest rather than authenticity is applied to this book, it merits attention. On any other grounds its substantive contributions are open to a variety of questions—psychological, linguistic and philosophical. The author invites the reader to join in his highly speculative exploration of the 'universally shared subconscious fantasies' which underlie the origins of language. Actually, he is primarily interested in the phylogenesis of words and it is the English lexicon which he uses to the greatest extent for his specific examples.

The author's intention is to offer a 'pilot study' for what he hopes will ultimately become an 'Interpretation of Language' in the same