Metaphorical Basis of Language a Study in Cross-Cultural Linguistics, or the Left-Handed Hummingbird

"Kelley's search for the image can be followed by the non-specialist, thanks to his avoidance of learned jargon and gratuitous name-dropping. His material is sometimes exotic, but its presentation is clear; his conclusions are consistent with his data; and he sticks to his subject. . . . The specialist will profit from Kelley's discussion of the common ground between what were thought to be disparate lines of investigation, as well as the stimulus of Kelley's original ideas and weighty compilations of linguistic questions and answers. . . . an important book because it shows us new ways to clarify obscure questions. It is a well-written collection of stimulating thought experiments and carefully considered arguments. It will surely have an influence in its field and beyond." - Michael Skupin, Associate Editor of Epigraphic Society Occasional Papers

". . .an earnest attempt. . . to organize an enormous amount of disparate materials concerning worldwide linguistic evolution into a coherent system. . . . the manner in which he brings these diverse materials together and the innovations he appends point out new directions for future study. This reviewer regards the study as both worthwhile and successful." - Stephen L. Field, in Scholarly Research and Review

"For anyone even faintly interested in the origins and spread of human languages, it is a book difficult to put down, no matter where it is opened. . . . This reviewer found most fascinating the topic of the merchant-traders, with its implications -- supported by evidence around the globe, including rock carvings of caravans in Utah -- of a world-wide commercial network, keeping its routes largely secret, through which luxury goods flowed to the wealthy of different cultures, for millennia before it was disrupted by the European Age of Discovery from c. 1450 on." -- Louisiana Mounds Society Newsletter