The Kingdom of Speech

The Kingdom of Speech by Tom Wolfe, published by Little, Brown on August 30, 2016, is presented in a large type edition with 304 pages. This book explores the provocative argument that traditional views on speech and human evolution may be fundamentally flawed. Wolfe embarks on an insightful journey, challenging established theories and suggesting that speech, rather than evolution, plays a crucial role in shaping complex societies and human achievements.
Readers will encounter a detailed examination of historical figures such as Alfred Russel Wallace, who contested Darwin’s theories, as well as contemporary anthropologist Daniel Everett, who questions the notion that language is inherently wired in humans. The narrative delves into the intersections of social science, anthropology, and linguistics, offering a fresh perspective on the evolution of language and its impact on human culture. This edition invites readers to reconsider the established paradigms surrounding speech and its significance in the development of civilization.
Official synopsis Publisher
The maestro storyteller and reporter provocatively argues that what we think we know about speech and human evolution is wrong.
“A whooping, joy-filled and hyperbolic raid on, of all things, the theory of evolution.” (Dwight Garner, New York Times)
Tom Wolfe, whose legend began in journalism, takes us on an eye-opening journey that is sure to arouse widespread debate. THE KINGDOM OF SPEECH is a captivating, paradigm-shifting argument that speech–not evolution–is responsible for humanity’s complex societies and achievements.
From Alfred Russel Wallace, the Englishman who beat Darwin to the theory of natural selection but later renounced it, and through the controversial work of modern-day anthropologist Daniel Everett, who defies the current wisdom that language is hard-wired in humans, Wolfe examines the solemn, long-faced, laugh-out-loud zig-zags of Darwinism, old and Neo, and finds it irrelevant here in the Kingdom of Speech.
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