Moving beyond the traditional boundaries of sociological investigation, br Thomas J. Scheff brings together the study of communication and the socialbr psychology of emotions to explore the imicroworldi of thoughts, feelings, br and moods. Drawing on strikingly diverse and rich sources-the findings ofbr artificial intelligence and cognitive science, and examples from literarybr dialogues and psychiatric interviews-Scheff provides an inventive accountbr of the nature of social life and a theory of motivation that brilliantlybr accounts for the immense complexity involved in understanding even the mostbr routine conversation. p A major contribution to some central debates in social theory at thebr present time. . . . What Thomas Scheff seeks to develop is essentially abr quite novel account of the nature of social life, its relation to languagebr and human reflexivity, in which he insists upon the importance of a theorybr of emotion. . . . A work of true originality and jolting impact. .