This historical work recounts the struggle of deaf-mutes against prejudice, so that their rights and their language, sign language, were recognised. The people figuring in this book run from the abbey de l'Épée to Laurent Clerc, the spokesman for this community in the United States.

A linguist, psychologist, and specialist in sign language, Harlan Lane teaches in Boston. He is the author of The Wild Child of Aveyron, which inspired the famous film by François Truffaut.