Unlike many other introductory textbooks that focus specifically on English phonology (Carr, 1999; Giegerich, 1992; Roach, 2000), McMahon's text does not begin with the mechanics of how English vowels and consonants are produced but rather focuses first on the heart of phonology: the phoneme. Although the book is slim, it adequately covers the same topics that comparable books cover, and McMahon's strength comes from apt metaphors and clear explanations that help the reader comprehend difficult concepts.

For example, McMahon explains that two sounds that are separate phonemes are “the same, but different” (p. 12). She notes that although this might sound contradictory, it is an everyday phenomenon no different from noting that a left and right shoe are very similar in some ways but also very different. To illustrate the phonetic/phonemic distinction, McMahon invokes graphemes as a very effective metaphor: Lowercase and uppercase letters are realizations of an ideal letter a. This ideal never actually appears because as we write it, we invoke a specific instantiation of that ideal. This corresponds to our conception of an abstract entity known as a phoneme, which is only ever realized as a specific instantiation of some phonetically specifiable sound but still exists outside that sound nevertheless. McMahon does a superb job of making her idea clear through metaphor.

Another welcome aspect of the book is the attempt to address the psychological reality of the phoneme, by which the author demonstrates that the phoneme is not merely a concept invented by linguists. However, the portrait of the phoneme put forth in this volume as well as in all the introductory English textbooks mentioned earlier is based on a structuralist view of the phoneme as taxonomic. Phonemes are discerned through finding minimal pairs of sounds. Giegerich (1992) specifically noted in his preface that the simple phonology espoused in these kinds of texts is not taken seriously by modern phonologists, but the idea seems to be that in an introductory class, students should not have to contend with theory. A structuralist approach is thus chosen to be the least theory-specific approach for students to grasp. McMahon, although following in this same vein, tries to specifically deal with some problems (e.g., neutralization) that might arise from such a simple view. However, this attempt also leads her to bring in some outdated concepts. For example, she says that for those who pronounce the vowel in Mary, marry, and merry in the same way, the archiphoneme /E/ could be placed before /r/. Concepts such as phonological features, feature geometry, or lexical phonology are not introduced.

McMahon treats not only American and British English but also provides a rather thorough examination of Scottish English. For example, at one point, she gives detailed information about distinct vowel realizations of 27 words from a standard lexical set for these 3 varieties of English as well as New Zealand and Singaporean English.

The book deliberately has few articulatory diagrams. McMahon states in the Introduction that she finds diagrams hard to decipher and that she would prefer students use introspection. Although her explanations are often clear enough to forego diagrams, the presence of both would seem to address the needs of those who learn better visually. An IPA summary chart with consonants and vowels combined would have also been helpful. There are generally about four exercises for each chapter, which are often interesting and thought-provoking and for which answers are provided. However, these exercises alone might not provide enough practice for an entire lesson's worth of homework.

In addition to the phoneme and articulatory descriptions of vowels and consonants, the book includes chapters about word stress and about syllable structure and weight. McMahon provides helpful guides at the end of each chapter to lead readers to more advanced discussion on each topic.

All in all, the book provides about the same level of coverage as Carr (1999) and does so clearly and concisely. It would be appropriate for undergraduate-level courses on phonology as well as for those seeking to gain a very basic understanding on their own. Those looking for more information about intonation and more exercises would do well to consult Roach (2000), whereas Giegerich (1992) provides more detail than McMahon on subsequent developments toward a more abstract conception of the phoneme, including features, X-tiers, and generative phonology.