Summary Why is a book like this needed? The syllable, for all its history and intuitive existence, remains an entity with fuzzy borders at best, with some, most notably Chomsky and Halle (1968), not finding it a necessary unit at all. Other volumes, noted below, have dealt extensively with the syllable within a certain theoretical framework (Optimality Theory), but have not provided a broader overview of arguments for and against the very existence of the syllable. Furthermore, as the volume editors note, a crucial question is: what does a syllable do? One thing that strikes the casual peruser of the Table of Contents is the broad range of topics, more than the expected purely phonological papers, reflecting current trends such as the increasing use of experimental phonology. The seventeen papers are divided into topical