Jager explicates a historical, linguistic model by which humans have created a "metaphor of selfhood" based on the written word. The chapters that concentrate on Augustine and the medieval period, covering both secular and religious writings, provide in-depth analysis of the ways metaphors of the heart and of text written about the heart came to refer to selfhood. It is in the first and final chapters that Jager falls short. In his coverage of the writings of ancient Greeks and Romans, the scriptural writings of the early Christian period, and the Renaissance and modern periods he becomes far more cursory and loses his focus. While the concluding chapter on the current linguistic move away from textual metaphors toward those based on computer and film is interesting, it draws attention away from his argument. (Karen E.S. Lempert, 'Facing History and Ourselves', Brookline, MA; from 'Library Journal', Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc)