A glowing take, a firm appreciation, and a thorough summary of Babel No More appeared in The Economist’s Dec. 31 print edition, which is available online.
The reviewer notes that I have “written the first serious book about the people who master vast numbers of languages.” This fact can’t be emphasized too much — I am the first, at least in English.
The reviewer also has this to say: “Mr Erard repeatedly peppers his text with such questions, feeling his way through his story as a thoughtful observer, rather than banging about like an academic with a theory to defend or a pitchman with a technique to sell.” This totally warms my heart.