In recent years, there has been increasing emphasis on the idea of reading as a "socio-cultural" phenomenon, derived from the idea that reading is not an isolated skill but is necessarily related to the purposes reading will be put to in particular social and cultural contexts. This collection of essays acknowledges the undoubted contribution of language, motivation, and cultural factors to the acquisition of literacy while engaging with the contribution of scientific experimental research to the understanding of reading and its development. Essays in the book are: (1) "The New Literacy: 'Caveat Emptor'" (Philip B. Gough); (2) "How Research Might Inform the Debate about Early Reading Acquisition" (Keith E. Stanovich and Paula J. Stanovich); (3) "Cognitive Research and the Misconceptions of Reading Education" (Charles A. Perfetti); (4) "Constructing Meaning: The Role of Decoding" (Philip B. Gough and Sebastian Wren); (5) "Phases of Development in Learning to Read Words" (Linnea C. Ehri); (6) "Learning to Read Words Turns Listeners into Readers: How Children Accomplish This Transition" (Morag Stuart, Jackie Masterson, and Maureen Dixon); (7) "Dyslexia: Core Difficulties, Variability and Causes" (Carsten Elbro); (8) "Meaninglessness, Productivity and Reading: Some Observations about the Relation between the Alphabet and Speech" (Brian Byrne and Alvin M. Liberman); (9) "Phonological Development and Reading by Analogy: Epilinguistic and Metalinguistic Issues" (Usha Goswami); (10) "The Messenger May Be Wrong, but the Message May Be Right" (Connie Juel); and (11)"Afterword: The Science and Politics of Beginning Reading Practices" (Marilyn Jager Adams). (NKA)