false 10541 15 Readers from Toad Suck, Arkansas, to Idiotsville, Oregon--and everywhere in between--will love <i>Made in America</i>, Bill Bryson's <i>Informal History of the English Language in the United States.</i> 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. <p> <i>Made in America</i> 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? <i>Made in America</i> is an excellent discussion of American English, but what makes the book such a treasure is that it offers much, much more. 412584 1994 Made in America total:1905|5:477|4:807|3:529|2:81|1:11| 1905 7373 2950 159 3 10 false false Sun Mar 15 08:01:05 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 14:00:40 -0700 2009 Made In America is a usually fascinating but sometimes overwhelming conversation about the manner in which language has evolved in the United States over the last couple hundred years. If you imagine a guy at the end of the bar who knows way too much about a particular subject and, while...more...]]> 1 1 false false Fri Feb 06 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 28 11:49:51 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 06 13:32:01 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 19 16:55:44 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 19 17:15:15 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Dec 24 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 17:29:56 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 17:43:35 -0800 2008
I actually spent four months reading this in little snippets, and would recommend the same to anyone. Bryson packs this book with so much information and so many words that digesting it all in...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jun 08 06:58:45 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 06:58:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Dec 03 17:43:46 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 21 16:24:44 -0800 2007 The Mother Tongue, Made in America is a book about the English language -- but while the former is about English in general, the latter is specifically about English in the US. Like The Mother Tongue, I like this book for its mix of interesting facts, historical anecdotes, and detours to comme...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Aug 18 00:06:43 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 00:16:58 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Aug 16 23:44:09 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 00:06:25 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Jul 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 27 08:11:31 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 14:40:11 -0700 2009
Which....more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon May 11 00:22:11 -0700 2009 Mon May 11 00:25:30 -0700 2009 People's History of the United States given the stark difference in focus. Though Bryson quotes p...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Aug 18 09:18:16 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 09:22:56 -0700 2009 there are humorous parts but not the belly laughs so common in his travel books. Made in America was an interesting read though, especially if you are interested in how the American language and culture c...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Feb 23 07:01:34 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 23 07:01:34 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Feb 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 21 10:20:13 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 21 10:28:01 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 22:47:45 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 22:54:10 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 06 08:03:46 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 06 14:28:07 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Nov 24 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Aug 07 10:02:58 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 07 10:04:22 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Apr 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 21 20:04:03 -0700 2008 Sat Apr 19 18:31:42 -0700 2008
Interestingly enough, the language used by those that we would call "backwoods...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Sep 14 16:30:36 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 14 16:30:36 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 30 18:00:21 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 30 18:02:28 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Mar 13 07:06:02 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 07:07:26 -0700 2009 more...]]>