This volume is one of the most recent and comprehensive collections of papers on the current state-of-the-art in SLA research. Arguing that “[a]s a widespread, highly complex, uniquely human, cognitive process, language learning of all kinds merits careful study for what it can reveal about the nature of human mind and intelligence” (p. 5), editors Doughty and Long have collected papers from 27 researchers—many of whom are the leading experts in their subfields—and organized them into seven sections.

The first section is a short (five-page) overview by the editors that addresses the issue of why SLA should be studied. The second section, on capacity and representation, includes five chapters, focusing on Universal Grammar (UG), non-UG nativism, connectionism, cognitive processing, and near-nativeness. The third section, on environments for SLA, contains four chapters focusing on language socialization, social context, input and interaction, and instructed SLA. The fourth section, on processes in SLA, consists of six chapters on implicit and explicit learning, incidental and intentional learning, automaticity, variation, crosslinguistic influences, and stabilization and fossilization in interlanguage. The fifth section—on biological and psychological factors—includes chapters on many of the hot topics in today's research arena, including maturational constraints, individual differences, attention and memory, and language processing capacity. This is followed by a sixth section on research methods, with chapters on defining and measuring SLA and collecting SLA data. The seventh and final section, entitled “The state of SLA,” includes a chapter on SLA theory that is followed by a final wrap-up chapter by the editors on SLA as cognitive science.

Space constraints preclude a comprehensive review of all the positions and chapters represented in this 888-page book. However, one of the main strengths of the book is clearly the breadth, scope, and range of perspectives offered by the contributors. Addressing topics that are significant, sometimes controversial, and always timely, many chapters focus on issues of fundamental importance and interest to the field. For example, N. Ellis' claims about connectionist and constructivist approaches to language acquisition, the overview of input and interaction by Gass, and Gregg's concluding remarks on theory construction provide readable updates of issues that are important in understanding the range of approaches to SLA research today. Norris and Ortega's discussion of defining and measuring SLA and Chaudron's article on collecting data are important and influential reading for those interested in SLA research methodology. Our understanding of SLA processes will also be enriched by the discussions of the biological and psychological constraints underlying SLA, such as Dörnyei and Skehan's overview of individual difference variables, Robinson's contribution on theoretical issues and models of attention and memory, and Pienemann's chapter outlining his processibility theory.

One of the attractions of the book is the inclusion of boxed inset studies that provide detailed coverage and guides to specific empirical work. Although not all of the chapters include these aids (e.g., the chapters on instructed SLA, language socialization, measurement, data collection, and SLA theory), where they are included, these insets are helpful in understanding the empirical foundations for claims and arguments presented in this compilation.

There are differences in length, coverage, and readability as well as in the scope of the chapters. For example, in the third section, on environments for SLA, a particularly comprehensive and accessible contribution on social context (by Siegel) and a somewhat more narrowly focused chapter on language socialization (by Watson-Gegeo & Nielsen) are juxtaposed in a way that could have benefited from some explanation or overview. Along these lines, the whole collection could have been made more readable either by the inclusion of a more comprehensive introduction that linked, explained, and motivated the choices for the different sections and each of the chapters, or by the inclusion of an editorial introduction to each section. However, having said this, the (short) final chapter by Long and Doughty presents an interesting, insightful, and cogent set of arguments for why SLA should be viewed as a cognitive science. Although clearly autonomous, it also serves to provide a (final) rational for the foci of the book. In general, the book is well edited, with a few infelicities (e.g., the index contains some but not all of the references in each of the chapters).

Despite these minor shortcomings, this book provides an excellent overview of most of the crucial topics in contemporary SLA research and, undoubtedly, will become a classic reference text on many researchers' bookshelves, despite the high cost.