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

Bill Bryson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 068810312X ISBN 13: 9780688103125

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 1995

Synopsis

The author of Mother Tongue offers an affectionate and informative look at the origins of American English, including why strippers' apparel is called a G-string and what--or who--is the real McCoy. 75,000 first printing. $75,000 ad/promo. Tour.

About this title

Review:

Readers from Toad Suck, Arkansas, to Idiotsville, Oregon--and everywhere in between--will love Made in America, Bill Bryson's Informal History of the English Language in the United States. It is, in a word, fascinating. After reading this tour de force, it's clear that a nation's language speaks volumes about its true character: you are what you speak. Bryson traces America's history through the language of the time, then goes on to discuss words culled from everyday activities: immigration, eating, shopping, advertising, going to the movies, and others.

Made in America will supply you with interesting facts and cocktail chatter for a year or more. Did you know, for example, that Teddy Roosevelt's "speak softly and carry a big stick" credo has its roots in a West African proverb? Or that actor Walter Matthau's given name is Walter Mattaschanskayasky? Or that the supposedly frigid Puritans--who called themselves "Saints," by the way--had something called a pre-contract, which was a license for premarital sex? Made in America is an excellent discussion of American English, but what makes the book such a treasure is that it offers much, much more.

About the Author:

Bill Bryson's bestselling books include One Summer, A Short History of Nearly Everything, At Home, A Walk in the Woods, Neither Here nor There, Made in America, and The Mother Tongue. He lives in England with his wife.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 068810312X
• ISBN 13: 9780688103125
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 417