Ever since 1991 there have been conferences on Syriac studies held once every four years in different locations in North America. That of 2011, held at Duke University, was the largest so far, thus offering testimony to the flourishing state of Syriac studies on the North American continent, despite a paucity of academic posts which have some specific connection with Syriac. The conference at Duke is the first of these conferences to have its main papers published together in a collective volume. Six of the twenty-four papers published here originated as plenary lectures, while the remainder started out as shorter presentations; nine of the authors had come over from Europe. The editors have arranged the papers, whose topics range in date from the third to the twentieth century, into eight sections: i, ‘Poetics and Representation’, with S. A. Harvey on Eve in the liturgy, J. Wickes on Ephrem, Hymni.de Fide 10, and R. A. Kitchen on a late verse Life of Jacob of Serugh; ii, ‘Language and Identity’, with C. Shepardson on constructing linguisitic difference in late antique Antioch, R. Contini on linguistic thought in the exegetical tradition, and H. Murre-van den Berg on Classical Syriac and the Syriac Churches in the twentieth century; iii, ‘Resurrection and Apokatastasis’, with C. M. Stang on Evagrius’ reference to the ‘Great gift of letters’, and N. Kavvadas on an apologetic passage in Joseph Hazzaya; iv, ‘Nile and Tigris’, with M. E. Doerfler on Philoxenus’ Letter to Patricius, K. Innemée on the inlaid doors in the church of Deir al-Surian, and A. Harrak on Patriarch Dionysius of Tell-Mahre; v, ‘East and West’, with N. Andrade on the legal document of ad 343, A. Camplani on Bardaisan's psychology, and C. E. Morrison on intercessory prayer in early texts; vi, ‘Greek and Syriac’, with A. Rigolio on some Greek literary texts taken over in Syriac monastic manuscripts, K. McVey on the Letter of Mara bar Serapion, A. Salvesen on biblical and secular learning in Jacob of Edessa, and U. Possekel on the correspondence between Eliya and Leo of Harran on Christology; vii, ‘History and Influence’, with S. H. Griffith on Syriac Christianity, Islamic origins and the Qur'an, A. Hilkens on the Turks in the Chronicle of Patriarch Michael and in its Armenian adaptations, and A. Mengozzi on the poems of Khamis bar Qardahe; and, finally, viii, ‘Text and Object’, with J.-N. Mellon Saint-Laurent on relics in hagiography, S. Bolz on a Jewish adjuration formula in three Syriac magic bowls, and L. van Rompay with detailed descriptions of two Syriac manuscripts in the library of Duke University. Each article is provided with its own specific bibliography. This is an impressive and rich volume: those with a specialist interest in Syriac matters will naturally benefit most, but anyone with even just a marginal interest in the Syriac world is likely to find here something that will be of interest. Since it is on a topic that is currently under much discussion, Sidney Griffith's judicious contribution on the Syriac background to the Qur'an might be singled out as something that non-Syriacists might well be glad to read. The standard of the contributions is consistently high, and the editors are to be much commended for providing, not only a general index, but also an index of manuscripts to which reference has been made: this is something that all too few editors of conference volumes think of providing, but their presence here will greatly enhance the usefulness of the volume.