The main difference is that Lisp has macros, no other languages' macro systems come close. For the cute version of why Lisp macros are so awesome check out cha

The main difference is that Lisp has macros, no other languages' macro systems come close. For the cute version of why Lisp macros are so awesome check out chapter 8 of Practical Common Lisp (http://gigamonkeys.com/book/ http://gigamonkeys.com/book/). For the serious and intense version check out On Lisp (http://paulgraham.com/onlisptext.html http://paulgraham.com/onlisptext.html).