As with all of the Cambridge language surveys, this book presents a useful comparative perspective on the evolution and status of the Romance languages, with focus on topics such as convergence processes, the differentiation of the Romance languages, and sociolinguistic factors.

This book is particularly useful for non-specialists in Romance linguistics, in particular, people who have a background in linguistics and a reading (or more) knowledge of one or more Romance language, but don't have the thorough knowledge of multiple Romance languages which is necessary to have a good grasp of the topic in comparative terms. Not that reading this book is enough to become a specialist on the topic or anything, but it presents a lot of facts in a manner that helps the reader understand what the larger issues in Romance linguistics are. The bibliography also contains many useful possibilities for further reading.

Even though it's clear that the purpose of the book precludes a full separate exposition of the historical development and synchronic structure of the various languages, it would have been helpful if the book had contained a little more information of this variety, presented in a more centralized framework. All in all, though, a small problem in an excellent book.

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