"Its publication should be a major event for cognitive linguistics and should pose a major challenge for cognitive science. In addition, it should have repercussions in a variety of disciplines, ranging from anthropology and psychology to epistemology and the philosophy of science. . . . Lakoff asks: What do categories of language and thought reveal about the human mind? Offering both general theory and minute details, Lakoff shows that categories reveal a great deal."

David E. Leary | American Scientist

"Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things presents some of the most stimulating ideas on mind and meaning i have ever read. it is a book that has far-reaching consequences and is sure to rattle the foundations of thinking and research in the cognitive sciences. Lakoff’s book is a tremendous piece of scholarship and an intellectual achievement of the first order. . . . No psychologist should be unfamiliar with this book.”

Raymond W. Gibbs, Jr. | American Journal of Psychology

"A book that no linguist can afford to neglect: it has implications which extend to all areas of linguistic investigation and far beyond. . . . Lakoff’s achievement is remarkable.”

Ronald W. Langacker | Language

"Lakoff sets himself the goal of understanding and explicating human categorization in general. . . . Rich, full, and thought-provoking.”

David Kronenfield | American Anthropologist

"Well worth reading for any one of [its many] topics.”

David S. Weld | Artificial Intelligence

"The points Lakoff makes are serious ones and will likely intrigue linguists, psychologists, philosophers, and literary theorists for years to come.”

Terence M. Odlin | Journal of Higher Education