This volume is the latest in the Oxford Introductions to Language study series, edited by H. G. Widdowson, and, as such, it provides a general and gradual introduction to the field through the use of intelligently crafted prose that facilitates the nonspecialist's ability to grasp the general concepts and controversies in this discipline. In this regard, Cook's book is intended for a different audience than other books on applied linguistics meant for specialists in the field (e.g., McCarthy, 2001; McDonough, 2002; Seidlhofer, 2003).

In keeping with the format of these other introductory volumes, Applied linguistics contains four parts: a survey (an up-to-date overview of the area concerned), readings (selected readings in the field accompanied by study questions), references (a selection of annotated references), and a glossary (cross-referenced to the survey).

The survey section briefly introduces the reader to the conceptual background underlying the following themes: applied linguistics; prescribing and describing; popular and academic views of correctness; languages in the contemporary world; English language teaching; language and communication; context and culture; persuasion and poetics: rhetoric and resistance; and past, present, and future directions.

The section containing selected readings in the field of applied linguistics provides the reader with a brief abstract of the texts that serves as an advance organizer and contextualizer for the selection that follows. This is especially useful for novice readers in the field who do not already grasp the theoretical, social, and political issues that impact the work of applied linguists. Each text is then followed by several discussion questions that ask the reader to compare, contrast, and critically examine the ideas expressed in the text.

The critically annotated list of references provides a progressive scale that evaluates the accessibility of each reference to the general public—for example, from introductory to advanced-level texts that require more linguistics background. The glossary also serves as a rudimentary index to the book, given that it provides cross-references to certain page numbers in the book on which a term is discussed.

In chapter 1, the author sets the stage for establishing the need for applied linguistics, “the academic discipline concerned with the relation of knowledge about language to decision making in the real world” (p. 5). He does so by presenting the reader with a series of thought-provoking questions about language that need to be addressed (e.g., “Should children speaking a dialect be encouraged to maintain it or steered toward the standard form of a language? (And, if so, how is that standard form decided, and by whom?)” (p. 4)). This volume prides itself on its socially activist approach to the field insofar as it continually advocates the idea that those charged with decision-making regarding a linguistic problem should “seek relevant advice in a practical and expedient manner” (p. 77) from various disciplines. The impetus for action would thus be relocated to within the problem itself, and the direction of influence would flow from the practitioners to the applied linguists; it is only then that this call for action would reach academic linguists, psychologists, sociologists, and so forth, and not vice versa.

Cook's writing style in this volume is quite engaging—terse, informative, and totally unapologetic for its postmodernist advocacy of a critical stance toward traditional grand narratives and toward the political use of seemingly innocuous terms with underlying hegemonic implications (e.g., native speaker). Cook is also quite critical of academic (formal) linguists, whose allegedly superior attitude causes them to isolate themselves from controversies involving the use of language in everyday life by focusing on “knowledge as an end in itself rather than with the action based upon that knowledge” (p. 17). However, the author clearly states that such withdrawal from the real world is not an option for applied linguists, who are committed to engaging the linguistically related problems of the world and to influencing decision-makers.

Although the author provides a thoughtful, reasoned justification for the work of applied linguists, Cook's unabashed criticism of academic (formal) linguistics might lead the novice reader to summarily devalue the work of scholars in those fields, whose cognitive approach to the study of language has provided valuable insights into the nature of language and the mind over the past several decades. Additionally, the complete lack of in-text references that makes the book accessible to nonspecialists might frustrate readers with more background in linguistics.

In sum, Cook's zealous approach to the field of applied linguistics is invigorating, and his book will be read with interest by linguists and nonspecialists alike. Applied linguists, especially, will be inspired to strengthen their resolve by this insightful advocacy for their engagement with the world as citizen-scholars.