In his autobiography, Just a Phrase I'm Going Through, David Crystal reveals the perils of being a linguist. He casts a humorous eye over a career of dangerous encounters - kidnapping and assassination, assault and murder, bribery and corruption, belly-dancers and red-light districts, revolutions and spies. David is an editor, lecturer, broadcaster and writer of over a hundred books on linguistic research. He is now Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor.