Neil Mercer is Professor of Language and Communications at the Open University.

• 1. Language as a tool for thinking 2. Laying the Foundations 3. The given and the new 4. Persuasion, control and argument 5. Communities 6. Development through dialogue 7. Investigating interthinking Conclusion

'The potentially wide-reaching results of this study... publication is timely' - Sheila MacDonald, Independent'This is a fascinating and accessible book. It would be of interest to anyone with a human interest in finding out more about how we use language in developing our understanding.' - Marian Sainsbury, National Foundation for Educational Research'This work is a successful combination of review and originality, accessible to those not already indoctrinated into the discourse of the close analysis of text, but also containing much of interest to those who are.' - Andy Wilcox, The Linguist