Half the world's languages are threatened with extinction, as English and other top 20 languages drive all before them. This work offers the author's journeys among the speakers of languages at the brink that take him to aboriginal Australia and to American Indian reservations, as well as to places where the languages are fighting back.

Harry Abley was a nightmare of a father: depressive, self-absorbed, unpredictable, emotionally unstable. He was also a dream of a father: gentle, courageous, artistically gifted. Mark Abley, his only child, grew up in the shadow of music and mental illness. How he came to terms with this divided legacy, and how he learned to be a man in the absence of a traditional masculine role model, are central to this beautifully written memoir. This extraordinary story will speak to all those who love music, who struggle with depression, or who wrestle with the difficult bonds of love between a parent...