This book sets out to answer a question that many linguists have been hesitant to ask: are some languages better than others? Written in the author's usual accessible and engaging style, the book outlines the essential and optional features of language, before concluding that the ideal language does not and probably never will exist. "A veritable compendium of linguistics, a collection of concise but detailed information about the essential components of human languages. It is written in an accessible, enjoyable, and refreshingly clear style. It also brings many other important questions into focus, for example, the varying extents to which speakers of diverse tongues make use of the vast potential resources of human language.