The Kingdom of Speech

July 11, 2016
Wolfe (Back to Blood), who began his career as a journalist, delivers his first nonfiction book in 16 years. In lively, irreverent, and witty prose, he argues that speech, not evolution, sets humans apart from animals and is responsible for all of humankind’s complex achievements. Speech, Wolfe explains, was the “first artifact,” the first instance where people took elements from nature—sounds—and turned them into something completely constructed. Wolfe evaluates the theories of the early evolutionists, such as Charles Darwin; self-taught British naturalist Alfred Wallace; and present-day linguists, psychologists, and anthropologists who, despite 150 years of effort, still struggle to understand how language evolved. Zeroing in on two scientific rivalries that pit an outsider against the establishment, Wolfe slyly skewers Darwin for grabbing all the glory from Wallace for the theory of evolution, and Noam Chomsky for ignoring, yet later tacitly acknowledging, fellow linguist Daniel Everett, who disagreed with Chomsky’s theory that language, in all its complexity, is hardwired in humans. Everett spent 30 years studying the Pirahãs, an isolated tribe in the Amazon basin, whose language revealed no conception of past or future, and no comprehension of numbers. Wolfe is at his best when portraying the lives of the scientists and their respective eras, and his vibrant study manages to be clever, funny, serious, satirical, and instructive. Agent: Lynn Nesbit, Janklow & Nesbit.

December 5, 2016
Wolfe stands as one of the towering literary figures of our era, who is known for his distinct style of writing. For a voice actor, conveying Wolfe’s blend of erudite intensity and sardonic wit presents quite a challenge, but Petkoff rises to the occasion. Wolfe’s thesis in this book centers on his belief that the theories of both Charles Darwin and Noam Chomsky fail to account for how humans developed language. Petkoff manages to channel the bite of Wolfe’s narrative at every turn, as he declares winners and losers of this grand debate over how humans developed language. Admittedly, nonfiction social criticism in this format probably does not have a wide appeal, but Petkoff helps up the entertainment value for this type of project. A Little, Brown hardcover.

August 1, 2016

With his first work of nonfiction in 16 years, Wolfe (The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test; The Bonfire of the Vanities) is back with a bang, arguing that speech is the cornerstone of society's greatest accomplishments. Meticulously deconstructing Darwinism, Wolfe exposes the flaws in the theory of evolution, which was eventually rejected by its original forgotten founder, and shatters the gentlemanly image of its namesake. Transitioning seamlessly into the land of linguistics, the author then elegantly strips apart the concept that humans were born with a "language organ." Examining the controversial field research of Daniel Everett, Wolfe shows how persistence can pay off when confronting stubborn, outdated concepts authorized and endorsed by the establishment. With his usual sharp wit and style, Wolfe's return to his roots is a thrilling journey into the who, what, where, when, why, and how of speech that will undoubtedly provoke stimulating conversations. VERDICT Not just for linguistics students or fans of the famous father of new journalism, this slim, spirited volume makes a worthy addition to any collection. [See Prepub Alert, 2/21/16.]--Venessa Hughes, Buffalo, NY

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2016

Groundbreaking journalist and author of four best-selling novels, including The Bonfire of the Vanities, Wolfe surely has strong opinions about our use of words. Here, he works his way from Alfred Russel Wallace, who thought up the theory of natural selection before Darwin but then renounced it, to contemporary anthropologist Daniel Everett's upset-the-apple-cart claim that language is not hardwired, to make the eye-popping assertion that human achievement and complex social structure are owing not to evolution but to speech. With a 100,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
Over the course of his long, intrepid, and influential writing life, Wolfe has become best known for his big, brash novels of eviscerating social critique, most recently Back to Blood (2012). But he made his name writing facade-busting nonfiction, and now, after a 16-year hiatus, he returns to true stories, all riled up about eight heavy-weight Evolutionists who threw in the towel, giving up on the effort to determine the origin of speech and how it works. Speech, Wolfe declares, is the attribute of all attributes when it comes to what differentiates humankind from all the other animals on Earth, so why have we failed to understand our world-altering linguistic capability ? In this mettlesome, slyly funny takedown, Wolfe spotlights two key scientific rivalries, each pitting a scrappy outsider against the academy: the naturalist Alfred Wallace versus Charles Darwin, and, in our time, the missionary-turned-linguist Daniel L. Everett and his battle with the long-reigning Noam Chomsky. Wolfe's pithy and stirring play-by-play coverage of compelling lives and demanding science transforms our perception of speech, which, he asserts, will soon be recognized as the Fourth Kingdom of Earth. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: As always, the white-suited Wolfe will be all over the media, traditional and online, stirring things up and sending readers to the shelves.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)