The sociolinguistics of sign languages. Ceil Lucas (Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Pp. 259.

The sociolinguistics of sign languages includes an introduction and six content chapters. In it the contributors present a clear and concise summary of many of the major areas of the study of sociolinguistics. The main purpose of the book is given in the introduction: to present linguistics students with an introductory text that covers many of the current issues and trends in the sociolinguistic study of signed languages. It also seeks to place the study of signed languages within the larger domain of general sociolinguistics. The book is quite successful with that goal in mind. A synopsis of the chapters' contents is presented below, followed by a review of the text as a whole.