About the Author

David McNeill is professor emeritus of linguistics and psychology at the University of Chicago and director of the Center for Gesture and Speech. He is the author of four previous books, including Hand and Mind, also published by the University of Chicago Press, and the editor of Language and Gesture.

Reviews

"What he is passionate about is the very stuff you would do if you put this paper down and started to explain to someone nearby what you were reading about - in other words, 'the spontaneous, ephemeral, made-up-on-the-fly' gesturing you do all day, maybe even in your dreams, though you probably barely notice it. And you probably never gave it a second's thought, although to McNeill it is a snapshot of your thinking, a window to your mind, the best way - without neurosurgery - of getting to peek inside your brain." - Barbara Mahaney, Chicago Tribune"