This is an important book that is long overdue, but also just a beautiful book that anyone can enjoy leafing through and learning along the way. It is shocking how many languages used to exist that have already gone extinct. So many more are incredibly endangered, with only a handful of native speakers still alive. We forget that language has not always been monolithic the way it is for many people today. This book documents many of the endangered indigenous languages in a format that is engaging and emotional.

For each language, we are given the area(s), a brief explanation of the language and what is being done to preserve it (particularly if there are any education programs or efforts being made in the local community to resuscitate use of the language), and a single word in the language with the translation in English. On the opposite page we're treated to a photo of someone (or in a few cases, multiple people) who represent that language in some way. What's really beautiful is how the images not only capture the essence of that person and the language, but especially how the word is intentionally chosen to draw a deeper connection with the story being told in the photo. There's a lot going on in each spread, and it invites you to sit with each individual word and experience how it exists in that photo and in the world around us.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC for unbiased review. This review will be cross-posted to my social media accounts closer to the book release date.

This book has so many potential audiences. As someone fascinated by languages and their evolution, this book is an important record of different rare languages. There are gorgeous photos of individuals who speak these rare languages, making this a great gift and/or coffee table book. It was so interesting reading about all these rare languages, most of which I'd never heard of before. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this