Thomas A. Sebeok is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and Semiotics and Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Folklore, and Uralic and Altaic Studies at Indiana University. An Honorary Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, he is also Distinguished Senior Fellow Emeritus of the Institute for Advanced Study (Collegium Budapest), a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of the American Anthropological Association, and holder of a Professional Achievement Citation from the University of Chicago. He is author or editor of hundreds of books and articles on a wide range of topics. Among his numerous semiotics publications are The Play of Musement, A Sign is Just a Sign, and The Sign of Three (with Umberto Eco).

"Linguist, anthropologist, semiotician, and author/editor of hundreds of articles and books on a wide range of topics, Sebeok (emer., Indian Univ.) here offers 17 chapters dealing with the worldwide emergence and development of modern semiotics. The chapter topics range from global semiotics and the evolution of semiotics to nonverbal communication and women in semiotics; the author ends with three short chapters that strike out in new directions: Estonian Connection, My 'Short Happy Life' in Finno—Ugric Studies, and Uralic Studies and English for Hungarians at Indiana University, A Personal View. This comprehensive and scholarly work is complete with 14 pages of detailed notes and a thorough 30-page reference section. The study will be of use and value to those beginning a serious study of semiotics at the graduate level and to seasoned scholars.March 2002"—W. B. Warde, Jr., University of North Texas

• Preliminary Table of Contents: AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Global Semiotics2. The Evolution of Semiosis3. Biosemiotics: Its Roots, Proliferation, and Prospects4. Galen in Medical Semiotics5. Signs, Bridges, Origins6. What Do We Know about the Signifying Behavior in the Domestic Cat (Felis catus)?7. "Give Me Another Horse"8. Nonverbal Communication9. Intersemiotics Transmutations: A Genre of Hybrid Jokes10. "Tell Me, Where is Fancy Bred?": The Biosemiotic Self11. The Cognitive Self and the Virtual Self12. Some Reflections on Vico in Semiotics13. Women in Semiotics14. The Music of the Spheres15. The Estonian Connection16. My "Short Happy Life" in Finno-Ugric Studies17. The Uralic Studies and English for Hungarians at Indiana University: A Personal ViewNotesReferencesIndex of Names