Everett was a missionary with a plan to convert the Pirahas, but they ended up converting him. Over time, he learnt their language and began to see the world how they saw it. They also challenge Noam Chomsky's universally accepted linguistic theories. The trade paperback was a Radio 4 Book of the Week, and sold over 13,000 copies.

Daniel Everett was born in California. He lived for many years in the Amazon jungle and conducted research on over a dozen indigenous languages of Brazil. He has published on sound structure, grammar, meaning, culture and language. He has been the subject of endless controversy in academic circles and is currently Professor of Linguistics at Illinois State University.