Using the metaphor of the Hydra monster from ancient Greek mythology, this book explores how the English language industry threatens the diversity of languages and cultures in the modern world. It reveals how the dominance of English is being confronted and calls for greater efforts to ensure the maintenance of linguistic and cultural diversity.

Pauline Bunce is an Australian teacher who has worked in Brunei Darussalam, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Her doctoral research examined the reading challenges posed by an alphabetic script for Chinese learners of English in Hong Kong.

Robert Phillipson is an Emeritus Professor at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark and was awarded the UNESCO Linguapax Prize in 2010. He has published extensively on language learning, linguistic imperialism, linguistic human rights, multilingual education and language policy.

Vaughan Rapatahana is from New Zealand and has taught in a number of international locations. He has been published extensively in a variety of genres and his PhD was in Existential Literary Criticism.

Ruanni Tupas teaches at the National Institute of Education, Singapore and was the Linguistic Society of the Philippines' 2009 Andrew Gonzalez Distinguished Professorial Chair holder.