Made in America

An Informal History of American English

by

592 pages

English language

Published Oct. 17, 2016 by Black Swan.

ISBN:
978-1-78416-186-6
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4 stars (4 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.

7 editions

reviewed Made in America by Bill Bryson

Review of 'Made in America' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Detailed and panoramic, this informal history of the AMERICAN language will teach you more about the language you really use every day than most scholarly books on American English. It is very well researched, but lively. I would not encourage it as a quick-read, but it is a must-read. While it is now over 20 years old, and contains a dated reference or observation or two, it is still very relevant in its main points. It's closing thoughts on immigration are prescient.

reviewed Made in America by Bill Bryson

Review of 'Made in America' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

As a non-native speaker, I always like to find new words in English and find out, wher they come from. I'm also generally fond of Bryson's writing style.

While this one was fun a n ther was a lot of general information on American history, it was hopelessly outdated. All I kept thinking was "wait 'till you hear about the internet." If there was an updated version of this, I would really appreciate it. But it'd possibly be a whole new book, if I'm honest.

What has bugged me extremely throughout the book: What's with the repetitions? I keep reading bits of info I have read some chapters earlier. You already said that. I can remember stuff, you know.

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3 stars
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3 stars

Subjects

  • English language