Review of Language, Music, and the Brain : A Mysterious Relationship.

Reviews the book, Language, Music, and the Brain: A Mysterious Relationship by Michael A. Arbib (2013). For the researcher, or for anyone interested in research using a multidisciplinary approach to the problem of the interrelations between language, music, and the brain, this anthology is at the same time a rich “Handbook of...” and “A Companion to....” As such the book ought to be a priceless resource on any reading list for master and graduate courses in a wide range of disciplines as, for instance, psycholinguistics, linguistics, psychomusicology, musicology, cognitive and evolutionary psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, and cognitive semiotics. The book contains 21 chapters, divided into five parts (including the introduction) covering different aspects and proficiencies of the interrelations and evolution of language and music on the one hand, and the brain on the other. The disposition of the book is pedagogic, and the chapters and the themes of the book are well connected through the careful editing. Some chapters might be a bit more challenging than others, depending on previous knowledge but there is doubtlessly something for all interested readers in the book—parts of it, or the whole of it. The chapters are well integrated into a whole, and the overarching structure of the thematic organization into five parts further helps the reader to find her or his way through the pages.