By unifying cognitive linguistics and pragmatics within a broad social sciences perspective, Jonathan Charteris-Black makes the reader aware of why metaphors are rhetorically successful. This study, a collocational analysis of discourses of American and British political speeches and manifestos, sports and finance journalism, and the Bible and Koran, provides insight into thepersuasive use of metaphor. It is proposed that metaphors are effective when they are both cognitively plausible and evoke an emotional response. They persuade because they integrate pragmatic, cognitive and linguistic knowledge with awareness of culture, ideology and history.'Critical Metaphor Analysis' is proposed as an original, multi-layered analytical approach to metaphor, integrating critical discourse analysis, corpus linguistics and cognitive semantics. Jonathan Charteris-Black's study will interest students and researchers in cognitive linguistics, rhetoric, religious and political discourse, and communication.