I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading about the history of pronouns. What an unexpectedly fascinating subject.

Language is political and anyone who believes otherwise needs to read this book. The author traces the linguistic and sociopolitical history of pronouns in general and the search for a singular non-gendered word in specific. Though the examples become redundant at times, I was surprised to find that the current argument against a singular non-gendered (i.e., "they" or a host of other suggested words) pronoun goes back to at least the 1700s. Gender politics have always been played out through the use of language to keep people in their perceived places, and the modern-day argument over non-binary or non-exclusive language is just the latest battleground. This book is an interesting and thorough introduction for anyone who is curious about how language has evolved (or not evolved) to bring us to where we are today.

***I was granted an ARC of this via Netgalley from the publisher.***

Today in the US, there has been a lot of conversation about the use of pronouns. Driving this conversation is the use of preferred pronouns by nonbinary and transgender people. However, the conversation and controversy over the use of pronouns is one that has a long history. This history is explored in What's Your Pronoun, Beyond He and She, by Dennis Baron. The linguist gives an easy to read analysis of the search for the "missing pronoun", a non-gendered pronoun in the Engish language. By revealing the long history of the search for the "missing pronoun", the proposed pronouns that have come and gone over the years, the political ramifications that have resulted from the use of pronouns, Baron opens the eyes of the reader to just how important pronouns have been in the past and just how important they are now and in the future. If you want to learn more about the history of trying to find an appropriate non-gendered pronoun or examine a list of nearly 250 recorded attempts to create one then this is the book for you.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars. Would highly recommend to a friend.

Reviewed and recommended on the December 29th episode of the Beacon podcast: http://mainebeacon.com/umaine-prof-inequity-is-creating-a-gut-microbe-gap/

*I received an ARC through Netgalley in return for an honest review *
As a linguistics nerd and gender neutral pronoun fan this is a book that I hope will be included in language and gender syllabi in the future.
Dennis Baron gives an exciting insight into the history of neutral pronouns and their significance from the suffrage movement, over general grammar concerns to the growing acceptance of non-binary identities.
There are many historical examples and quotes, although sometimes they seem a bit too much and overwhelming (although that might be different in print).
I cannot wait to see this being cited in essays or conversations about the "missing word".
3.5/5 Stars (Rounded up to 4)

I really liked this title. To me, the reasons why language is required to evolve are very interesting, so the topic was one that I liked reading about. the writing flowed well and there was enough "story" that I think most people could stay interested, so I kind of weighed whether I could, in fact, use it for one of my courses. Ultimately, though, I think it's a little word-nerd heavy for the composition classes I teach and most incoming freshman don't really have the patience to read something like this. Great title, though , and something I will definitely be recommending to my colleagues that teach upper level courses!