Matthew Gordon's Labov: A guide for the perplexed is a clear, comprehensive, and remarkable presentation of the life and contributions of William Labov, the celebrated linguist considered by many to be the founder of modern sociolinguistics. In this book, Matthew Gordon masterfully weaves the narrative of Labov's life and work together with an overview of sociolinguistics and of sociolinguistic concepts, providing context to Labov's research and the innovative changes he made to the way we study language. This book is an intellectually stimulating read for individuals at any level of interest in sociolinguistics, or linguistics more generally. Readers will find this book a witty, engaging, and illuminating description of Labov's work and contributions to sociolinguistics.

The stated goal of Matthew Gordon's book is ‘to offer an overview of the framework that Labov operates in as well as to survey his contributions in several particular areas of research’ (19), and the author does so in nine clear and well-organized chapters. He begins by explaining the importance of Labov's contributions to the development of variationist studies, and then gives a brief biographical sketch of Labov's beginning as a chemist who carried his scientific knowledge of empirical testing into his interest in language use (chapter 1). In chapter 2, Matthew Gordon describes the historical background of the field of linguistics before Labov and explains some foundational concepts in sociolinguistics, including phonetic and social variables that set the stage for the rest of the book. Matthew Gordon then reviews Labov's groundbreaking research as a graduate student: his Master's thesis on sound change in progress in Martha's Vineyard, and his dissertation on the social stratification of speech in New York City (chapter 3). Chapter 4 outlines Labov's contributions to the variationist approach, and chapters 5–8 cover his research agenda in the areas of stylistic variation, discourse analysis, social factors like ethnicity and gender in variation and change, and the study of and advocacy for African American English.

Throughout the book, Matthew Gordon provides readers with a clear trajectory of how Labov developed his ideas, work, and interests to cover a broad variety of topics in sociolinguistics. While he focuses primarily on Labov's contributions and innovations, he also discusses criticism of some of Labov's studies. This discussion helps the reader to analyze Labov's work thoughtfully and to understand how he fits into the broader study of sociolinguistics. Besides delivering engaging prose, Matthew Gordon also includes many charts, tables, and maps from Labov's work throughout all nine chapters, which give the reader a valuable complement to Matthew Gordon's lucid written descriptions of Labov's research.

Matthew Gordon has achieved an outstanding contribution to our understanding of Labov's life, work, and influence on sociolinguistics. This book is a must-read for any scholar interested in sociolinguistics and variation. It serves as an excellent example for writing about the lives and research of scholars in any field, and it has the potential to inspire more writing on other great thinkers within linguistics.