Book excerpt: In view of the great upsurge of interest in syntax in recent years, it is remarkable that there are so few studies of Arabic syntax, and the works of a diachronic orientation are virtually nonexistent. The main portion of this book is historical, dealing with fundamental mechanisms of syntactic and semantic change. Here Bloch has made a substantial contribution to the historical syntax of Arabic. Throughout the book the phenomena are viewed form a broad perspective that takes into account evidence not only from all periods and genres of Arabic (Ancient Poetic, Koranic, Classical, Middle, Modern Literary and Colloquial) but also from other Semitic (and occasionally non-Semitic). In the second printing are almost exclusively corrections of misprints and other minor alterations made.