<p>Filled with both enormous erudition and plain commonsense, this book makes a ground-breaking contribution to our understandings of the development and importance of vernacular literacy. But beyond the innovative topic of the book, Joshua A. Fishman expands here on an original historical-macrosociolinguistic theoretical approach of 'predicting the past' that, as he says for literacy, 'vivifies the dead and freezes the lively.'</p>

- Ofelia García, Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA,

<p>Here we are treated to a reflective exploration by a grand master of sociolinguistics on a topic of both historic and contemporary importance. In inimitable style, Fishman draws on his encyclopedic knowledge of European language history to bring to life both social factors and social actors involved in the spread of vernacular literacies.</p>

- Nancy H. Hornberger, University of Pennsylvania, USA,

<p>This book will be interesting to anyone interested in European history, literacy, and language development.</p>

- Ken Decker, SIL International,