Product Description

An entertaining, anecdotal look at the origins of language and ideas in the USA. Bryson explains why two bicycle repairmen from Ohio succeeded in mastering manned flight, why the assassination of President Garfield led to the invention of air conditioning, and many other improbable but true facts.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23027 in Books
• Published on: 1998-04-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 624 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Bill Bryson's "Informal History of the English Language in the United States" 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 was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1951. He settled in England in 1977, and lived for many years with his English wife and four children in North Yorkshire. He and his family then moved to America for a few years but have now returned to the UK. His the bestselling travel books include The Lost Continent, Neither Here Nor There,A Walk in the Woods and Down Under. He is also the author of the prize-winning A Short History of Nearly Everything, and his most recent book is The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.

Customer Reviews

Offers a lot in a single book
To be honest, I always associated Bill Bryson with light travel books, so I was pleasantly suprised to find his refreshing writing style applied to etymology; not always the easiest topic to entertain with!

Having said that, there is so much more than etymology. The anecdotes are amusing, and you will find yourself repeating them to everyone you know. The work that debunks urban myths is fascinating and, as is often the case, fact is stranger than fiction; some of the truths behind words and phrases are truly special.

The lists of when words were first used did not appeal to me personally, although I am perfectly willing to believe that there are people out there who would be interested, but they are fairly easy to skip.

The one thing I take away from this book more than anything else is respect for American English. As a young Englishman, I have been pre-conditioned into a certain disregard for 'Americanisms'. Yet after reading this book, you will see how useful many of these words are, and the ones we choose to attack are very limited. I think the book is worth reading for this information alone.

In conclusion, a good read that you can take your time over.

The most read book on my bookshelf
I read first read this book a few years ago but still find myself going back to it time and again. My copy is so well thumbed it is falling apart. Billed as a history of American English, this book is much more than that. It is one of those books which entertains and informs. I learned more about American history from this book than I did from a whole set of textbooks on the topic. I would recommend this book wholeheartedly to anyone. It is his best book by far.

great!
I think I read too many English boarding-school books when I was a kid. At least I got a snobbish attitude about the superiority of British English over American English from somewhere.

This book was a revalation, it showed me that my snobbishness was just that, and without foundation. Things that I had firmly believed, like that 'trash' was an Americanism, were swept away (and now I think, what would it matter if it were?).

Made In America is full of fascinating detail. I couldn't stop myself from reading passage after passage out loud, and I've bought copies for gifts. Anyone with an interest in language, history, or culture would get a kick out of this book.