I liked Steven Pinker’s The Stuff Of Thought: Language As A Window Into Human Nature and it was worth reading. It was a little specialized for me and it didn’t really solve any problems or answer any questions I had, but it was definitely filled with interesting stuff. It was quite interesting as a native English speaker to see all the ways that English has rules that we’re not even aware of (linguists are just discovering them). It made me feel sorry for people learning a new language and seemed to indicate that the book learning that is usually proscribed for that feat will inevitably be insufficient. I think the book was overall accurate, but I’m no linguist, so maybe it wasn’t. There was one statement, however, which prompted me to stop and ponder its accuracy. Pinker says (on page 370) that rape is far more common now than 40 years ago. I just recently read a huge book that thoroughly refuted such impressions of ever increasing violence; that book was called "The Better Angels Of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined" by Steven Pinker. Still, if you’re interested in the subtleties of language (especially English), this is a very well written book that is neither too technical nor too simplistic.