As a passionate and fluent Esperantist, I absolutely loved this book. It's incredibly readable and interesting, and gives a good overview of the language. There is a good balance between telling the history of the language and providing personal experiences in the community. The author began with no knowledge of Esperanto and starts from scratch (both in learning the language and its history). In a way it was like reading a review of my home town, I recognised a lot of the people and places and was probably as familiar with the topic as the author.



This isn't to say that it's perfect, I felt there was too much emphasis on the American and Jewish side of Esperanto, while ignoring Esperanto in other countries. The personal stories were bland and tended to ramble away from the main point (the Vietnam chapter could have been cut in half). There is surprisingly little detail about Esperanto culture or what happens at international events, native speakers of Esperanto aren't even mentioned!



However, these complaints don't overshadow how much I enjoyed this book (it's always easier to criticise than praise). An interesting book about an interesting topic, that I would highly recommend to everyone.