How does one express "sliced the wolf's head off" as opposed to "sliced the wolf's stomach open" in gesture? How does the turn of a hand express praise or just a general observation? Working with a series of recordings, Kendon (cognitive science, U. of Pennsylvania) presents a detailed analysis of gesture within culture and language to show its varied role in the construction of utterances. He describes interest in gesture from classical antiquity through the twentieth centuries, classifies gestures and gesture units, analyzes the deployment of gesture in the utterance and in semantic interaction, describes how gesture affects referential meaning, and gives examples of pointing, the precision grip and the open hand. He works through gesture without speech and the complex relationship between gesture and signing, then establishes the communication economy of gesture and culture. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)