One small criticism first: this was in some ways less far-ranging and comprehensive than I'd imagined, focussing on just three aspects of language and the perception of reality - colour, gender and spatial relations. And the sections on colour account for almost half the book. This can be forgiven as these are the only areas in which any serious and conclusive research has been done.
But once you get past that narrowing of the scope, this is a still an eye-opening and enormously readble book, full of fascinating details and vividly described characters. What makes it work best is Deutscher's skill as a storyteller, with early sections tracing the historical development of theories about ancient Greeks' colour perception at times read like a particularly engrossing thriller (no, really). Deutscher is also a skilled prose writer, and not above slipping in the occasional linguistic witticism, but only where appropriate and never coming across as clever for its own sake.
Highly recommended.