As a Deaf reader this is a very interesting book and I know the author would absolutely hate my name sign (which was given to me by an elderly Deaf woman mind you). If anyone is interested in the linguistic and cultural context of name signs... Along with what is the platonic ideal of a name sign in AMERICAN Deaf culture is... This book is an excellent cursory overview. That being said, please keep in mind that other Deaf communities globally may veer to the more descriptive than the formula of "initial in their alphabet + a location on the signers upper body", and even the modern Deaf community doesn't follow those strict conventions. That being said the book does convey that a small segment sign names in American Deaf culture are descriptive.