Book excerpt: "Cognitive Linguistics: Basic Readings" brings together twelve foundational articles by leading figures in the field, each of which introduces one of the basic concepts of Cognitive Linguistics, like conceptual metaphor, image schemas, mental spaces, construction grammar, prototypicality and radial sets. The introductory purposes of the collection are supported by an introduction to the theory and, specifically, the practice of Cognitive Linguistics and by trajectories for further reading that start out from the individual chapters. -- From publisher's description.