First Published in 1992. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Contents: Part I:The Nature of Social Explanations.S.J. Read, Constructing Accounts: The Role of Explanatory Coherence. R. Lamb, M. Lalljee, The Use of Prototypical Explanations in First- and Third-Person Accounts. D.J. Hilton, R.H. Mathes, T.R. Trabasso, The Study of Causal Explanation in Natural Language: Analyzing Reports of the Challenger Disaster in The New York Times. J. McClure, An Economy of Explanations. A. Furnham, Lay Explanations. W. Turnbull, A Conversation Approach to Explanation, with Emphasis on Politeness and Accounting. B. Weiner, Excuses in Everyday Interaction. Part II:Explanations and Social Contexts. L. Bennett, Legal Fictions: Telling Stories and Doing Justice. F.D. Fincham, The Account Episode in Close Relationships. R.J. Bies, S.B. Sitkin, Explanation as Legitimation: Excuse-Making in Organizations. P. Essed, Alternative Knowledge Sources in Explanations of Racist Events. M.J. Cody, D.O. Braaten, The Social-Interactive Aspects of Account-Giving. K. Aronsson, C. Nilholm, Storytelling as Collaborative Reasoning: Co-Narratives in Incest Case Accounts. A.L. Weber, J.H. Harvey, T.L. Orbuch, What Went Wrong: Communicating Accounts of Relationship Conflict. M.L. McLaughlin, M.J. Cody, R. Dickson, V. Manusov, Accounting for Failure to Follow Advice: Real Reasons Versus Good Explanations.