Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States

Like all Bill Bryson books I have read, and that is most of them, this is delightful. American English, as many have noted, is a thing apart. Bryson, enjoying his every word and sentence as readers will, tells us how it got that way. History plays a large part, as it must. Readers will learn much, and learn it painlessly. There are hearty laughs along the way as well as amused smiles; his partial list of place names in the U.S. is good for a guffaw. Have you been to Bugscuffle, Tennessee, or Jerk Tail, Missouri? You will learn that Oatmeal, Texas is named for a Mr. Othneil. Bryson also comments on sexual bias as seen in pairs of words like master/mistress, pointing out that the masculine word denotes power, the feminine form, submission. Bibliography and index.

Pardon me while I whine a bit, but the reviewers who complain that the book lacks scholarship and similar pedantic complaints have missed the point. Bill Bryson is a writer, a storyteller, and man of wide interests who can churn out charming, remarkably well researched books at a satisfying rate. Like his History of Everything (the "history" of science), The Informal History of American English is not a textbook, not complete and not intended for a serious study of the language. It makes the point that language is evolutionary, a flexible, variable tool that, in America, probably has had a broader range of lasting influences than most languages, and those influences reflect American society. If you are a reader and like words and their derivations, this is dessert--fully satisfying but not the complete meal. He prefers the words and sayings that have good stories about them, and his 20 years of living in England are reflected in is often wry, dryly witty take on the facts. It is occasionally laugh out loud, has any number of chuckles and is interesting throughout. He writes easily and occasionally reflects some real depth in his efforts. He relies perhaps a bit too much on Mencken's research, but then they share a world view and sense of humor. Originally a travel writer, he takes a trip through American history and points out the bits that interest him most, and makes it enjoyable, entertaining and even educational. Like a conversation, the book sometimes wanders off topic to charming or ironic side note, but he always returns to the main road. If your expectations are reasonable, this book is a pleasure and I suspect you will pick it up later, from time to time, to remind yourself of the story or circumstances behind the way we speak or just to get a moment of intelligent wit. I gave it 4, instead of 5, stars because he could have written more, because it needs a little editing and because despite an impressive bibliography, a bit of the philosophy of language development would not have gone amiss. But for a pleasurable read on an interesting topic for the dilettante (history of the word dilettante is in the book), this is a good buy.

Somehow, I missed this book, even after discovering Bill Bryson and reading all of his other works. I'm very glad I eventually found it, because it's wonderful. The title is a little bit misleading, because it's really only partly about the English language. It's mostly about fascinating, usually funny, historical anecdotes, with just a dash of English language thrown in. There are several points in the book where you're just reading about history for page after page -- written in the classic Bill Bryson style, so much less dull than it would otherwise be -- with seemingly no connection to language. Then after three or four pages, he makes the connection to a single word. And then he dashes off to another series of historical events. I'd say this is a can't-miss for any Bryson fans, and a great place to start if you're interested in the author but have not experienced his writing yet.

You can't go wrong with Bill Bryson, and this one is a fascinating and often entertaining overview of the historical events and influences that turned American English into such a unique dialect.

This is a fun book. An overview of American history with an eye (or ear?) towards the origins of familiar words and phrases as well as some once popular words that have been forgotten. This isn't some dry, clinical, (boring) scholarly study; it's fun, conversational-style tale of how a brand new country absorbed, confiscated, and assimilated words and phrases from other languages to form it's very own. Great fun. Highly informative. Bill Bryson has done it again!

The book is fabulous (I'm guessing), based on the first chapter. I'm a big fan of Bryson, but buyer beware: the font used in the paperback version of this book is so tiny that it makes for a very difficult read (I'm over 50 but under 60). Sadly, I'm returning the book. I was hopeful to purchase on my Kindle so that I could increase the font size, but it's not available there....Sorry, Mr. Bryson; I tried.

Bill Bryson is tops. You will love Any book you read by him. Very informative. Always learning something new. Great read.

This book, full of fascinating facts and details, is a great way to learn about American history. It's easy to read a bit at a time, so just opening it up is not a commitment. Bryson's prose is intelligent and entertaining.

Un voyage captivant dans l'histoire des États-Unis et de leur langue. Aussi drôle que riche en anecdotes. A lire absolument!

Bill Bryson, come sempre, oltre le aspettative. Ho imparato la storia degli Stati Uniti, come hanno deciso la lingua, chi ha scritto i primi documenti, come hanno combattuto per il nome di presidente, come si divertivano ai tempi, e mille altre cose solo perché Bill sa presentare l'informazione fattuale in un modo molto umoristico. Consiglio il libro solo per chi è fluente col Inglese.

Good book

Muy bien

Extraordinary history of America and American english. Amazingly well written, researched and humorously presented. I have all his books: I don't know of a more entertaining, informative or engaging writer.