THE OXFORD HANDBOOK OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS. Robert B. Kaplan (Ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Pp. xxvii + 641. $74.00 cloth.

This edited volume is undoubtedly one of Oxford University Press's flagship publications in the broad area of applied linguistics and second language studies. Edited by one of the best known scholars in the field—Robert Kaplan—with help from three equally distinguished colleagues—William Grabe, Merrill Swain, and Richard Tucker—the book contains 39 chapters written by leading international experts in their particular domains. Thus, it is a kind of “all-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-applied-linguistics” venture, and my overall conclusion is that the book successfully delivers what it promises: It is a collection of serious scholarly articles covering all of the key aspects of applied linguistics, with a good mix of classic topics and novel, forward-pointing concepts.