The Language Instinct, by Stephen Pinker (Penguin £6.99 in the UK)

Psychologist and linguist Stephen Pinker argues convincingly in this book that almost all of us possess what he calls the language instinct, an innate capacity for language components such as grammar, syntax and the accumulation of vocabulary. A central element of the book is Pinker's illustration of what a spectacular skill language is and the bewildering capacity of children to develop this. It is because of the complexities involved, Pinker argues, that natural selection is the only conceivable method by which humans could have come to have this unique capacity. Parts of the book are hard work but overall it is more than rewarding because of what is involved - mind-structure, attempting to say something about human nature, and how we experience consciousness or being.