Made in America

An Informal History of the English Language in the United States

by Bill Bryson

Hardcover, 417 pages

English language

Published Feb. 15, 1995 by William Morrow & Co.

ISBN:: 978-0-688-10312-5

(12 reviews)

Bill Bryson turns away from the highways and byways of middle America, so hilariously depicted in his bestselling The Lost Continent, for a fast, exhilarating ride along the Route 66 of American language and popular culture.

In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land - explaining how a dusty desert hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up - as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.

10 editions

georgewhatup reviewed Made in America by Bill Bryson

Review of 'Made in America' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This book definitely isn't for everyone but for those who it's for (word and history nerds) it is really really for.

A book about how America added to the English language doubles as a history of the country, something blindingly obvious in retrospect. Every stage of Americas history mapped out by the words created during that period. Depressions and gold rushes, slavery and emancipation, desperation and invention, modesty and arrogance, innocence and cruelty, social freedoms and economic losses, you see how all played out in America and set the benchmark for the modern world. This book perfectly captures the wild, heady, inspirational years of Americas growth into the behemoth it is today.

And so many words created or grown there! Even many foreign words that have entered English parlance (rendezvous, tsunami, kindergarten, glitch, guru) found their entry through Ellis Island. Honestly by the end of the book it's hard to …

Jens reviewed Made in America by Bill Bryson

Review of 'Made in America' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Bill Bryson is known for his educative, yet entertaining books, and this one fits right in. He describes the origins and the history of some Americanisms - words that originated in America or changed their meaning. This was interesting to me - I am fascinated by language, and like to read about American history.

The individual chapters cover an era of American history, from early colonization to the 20th century, or address specific topics - travel, sports and games, business and advertisement, etc. Bryson explains where certain terms come from, how they used to be used and how Americans use them today. It's a fascinating and long journey through just a few centuries of history!

While the first handful of chapters is an interesting ride through early US history, the longer the book goes on, the more it becomes a list of words (and the year they were first used in print), and less of an actual book about history. Overall, it is actually more of a description of American cultural history rather than a book on the English language. I was intrigued in the beginning, but lost much of my interest over the course of the book. It didn't help that the book was originally published in the 1990s - much of it seems a bit dated now, and internet-inspired language is not featured at all.

A very good knowledge of the English language is a requirement to enjoy this book: I consider myself fairly proficient, but just didn't know some of the idioms and terms that Bryson lists and explains. Bill Bryson's well-known conversational tone helps alleviate this issue - reading it feels like listening to an acquaintance talk, but like I said, I only really cared until a certain point.

Michael @ Knowledge Lost reviewed Made in America by Bill Bryson

Review of 'Made in America' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Although I don’t live in America, it is obvious that they have had a big influence on the English language. Bill Bryson’s ‘Made In America’ explores the history of America and the effects it had on the language. I found the most interesting parts to do with censorship in America, from titbit becoming tidbit, cockroach becoming roach and to the extreme case of political correction which wanted to stop the use of terms like blackeye and blacksmith (but interestingly enough, not blackout). I feel I’ve gained some valuable insight into why American English is different to the commonly used Queens’ English, while getting a history into commonly used terms. Bill Bryson writes in such a way that it makes this book easy to read and at times humorous, which I feel is what you want in a Non Fiction book.