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A review by bibliotropic
Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States by Bill Bryson
4.0
It isn’t that often that you can say, “I enjoy history, linguistics, and trivia,” and have all your interests addressed and satisfied in the same book. Billy Bryson manages this in Made in America, which is, true to its subtitle, an informal history of the English language in the United States.
Bryson’s engaging style and unfailing humour shine in this book. He breaks down his research into different categories rather than just starting at America’s earliest point in history and jumping around from there. Thus, each chapter is fairly well self-contained, and it’s easy to look up a fact or idea just from the chapter categories rather than trying to remember where in America’s history something occurred.
I say “fairly well” self-contained because there are a few problems with this system, most notably in the inconsistency Bryson has in bringing up facts that he already mentioned in previous chapters. He does his best to make sure that the earlier chapter gets the detailed explanation, and the problem doesn’t lie so much in no explanation at all but rather in getting the explanation repeated.
Still, as this doesn’t happen incredibly often, it’s easy to overlook so that the rest of the book can be enjoyed without problem.
With great style and wit, Bryson accomplishes what so many teachers cannot – he makes history, and language, intensely interesting. This is one book that comes with a high recommendation from me. It’s not for everyone, but anyone with an interest in history or linguistics will find something to appreciate. In this book, you’ll learn things that you weren’t even aware that you didn’t know.
Bryson’s engaging style and unfailing humour shine in this book. He breaks down his research into different categories rather than just starting at America’s earliest point in history and jumping around from there. Thus, each chapter is fairly well self-contained, and it’s easy to look up a fact or idea just from the chapter categories rather than trying to remember where in America’s history something occurred.
I say “fairly well” self-contained because there are a few problems with this system, most notably in the inconsistency Bryson has in bringing up facts that he already mentioned in previous chapters. He does his best to make sure that the earlier chapter gets the detailed explanation, and the problem doesn’t lie so much in no explanation at all but rather in getting the explanation repeated.
Still, as this doesn’t happen incredibly often, it’s easy to overlook so that the rest of the book can be enjoyed without problem.
With great style and wit, Bryson accomplishes what so many teachers cannot – he makes history, and language, intensely interesting. This is one book that comes with a high recommendation from me. It’s not for everyone, but anyone with an interest in history or linguistics will find something to appreciate. In this book, you’ll learn things that you weren’t even aware that you didn’t know.