Made in America
by Bill Bryson
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Read in November, 2006
This is more of Bryson from earlier in his career and still on kind of a linguistic academic jag rather than writing solely to be entertaining. Made in America follows the stories of various inventions by American inventors (e.g., our government, the airplane, the telephone, the personal computer, etc.) and discusses how they came about and what influences they had on the English language as spoken in America and other places.
Frankly, I could have done with more wild tales, apocryphal or oth...more
Frankly, I could have done with more wild tales, apocryphal or oth...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
language enthusiasts, history buffs, xenophiles
Bill Bryson writes about the evolution of American English (as opposed to the British variety) in this book about how history, technology, and society have influenced the way we speak in the United States.
Interestingly enough, the language used by those that we would call "backwoods" or "hillbillies," that is, those living in the mountains of the Appalachian region, is the closest to that of the language spoken by the earliest settlers of the New World. The isolation a...more
Interestingly enough, the language used by those that we would call "backwoods" or "hillbillies," that is, those living in the mountains of the Appalachian region, is the closest to that of the language spoken by the earliest settlers of the New World. The isolation a...more
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Read in April, 2008
Soooo good! Really interesting. So much information that I feel the need to read it again at least once. I like Bill Bryson´s style - he packs his book so full of facts and information but makes it read quickly rather than put you to sleep like so many other dense history books will. My only complaint (and a weak one) is that there were a couple of issues he addressed and left out information or rumors that I have heard frequently about the origins of certain words and expressions - normally th...more
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If this book had a different title, I would have nothing bad to say about it. It's interesting, well written, seemingly well researched, engaging, funny. All of which are good. But it isn't always about language. It's really more about aspects of American history that interest Bryson, some of which inspire him to talk of things linguistic. But it isn't rare for there to be several pages at a time during which he doesn't discuss language or linguistic oddities at all. So if it were perhaps called...more
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Read in July, 2008
Loved this book. I keep telling my friends about the things I learned.
Bryson tells the history of the United States of America, it's people, it's culture, and most importantly, it's language. I wish American History class in High School could have been based on this book (no offense Mrs. Buksbaum)! From how early settlers modified English with influences from their native tongue and local Native American languages, to the beginnings of the automobile, electricity, baseball and the space...more
Bryson tells the history of the United States of America, it's people, it's culture, and most importantly, it's language. I wish American History class in High School could have been based on this book (no offense Mrs. Buksbaum)! From how early settlers modified English with influences from their native tongue and local Native American languages, to the beginnings of the automobile, electricity, baseball and the space...more
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This is the kind of nonfiction book I love best. It's like Salt and Know-It-All. It mixes history with facts. And best of all, it has Bryson's humor scattered through. If you're looking to learn about how American's got their version of English, this is the book for you! I'm finding it quite interesting to learn that it's actually the British version that did the "evolving" and our pronunciations are actually more like old English. I also found it funny that to get a good picture of wh...more
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Read in February, 2007
A cute history of the United States and the words it has contributed to the English language. I would have preferred a more concentrated focus on the evolution of American English; Bryson seems to get overly excited by simply recounting all of U.S. history. This is fine and very well done in some cases, but Bryson is a storyteller, not a historian, so one can't completely trust his version of every event.
His short rant about the opponents of political correctness, however, should be publi...more
His short rant about the opponents of political correctness, however, should be publi...more
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Read in July, 2007
I don't think I've ever read a book more densely packed with arresting facts. Don't let the title fool you--while Bryson does explore language, he also delves deeply into a pocketload of other topics, from politics and war to inventions and fads. It gets just a little...easy to put down...toward the end, due only to the considerable length and the constant barrage of information, but I'm very glad I stuck with it. Bryson is pretty much my go-to guy now for exhaustively researched, engagingly ...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in May, 2008
recommends it for:
Lovers of Humor, History, and Vocabulary!
Bill Bryson is my man! My fiancee often tells me I should go marry him instead. This book tracks the evolution of the American language through America's history. I can now amaze my friends by explaining three different possible origins of "OK!", and by letting my English friends know that "keep a stiff upper lip" is actually an Americanism! As usual, Bryson takes what sounds like an incredibly boring topic and makes it engrossing through his humor, anecdotes, and wicked
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
trivia lovers, linguists
I love Bill. He remains my absolute favorite author. The problem with this book is not that it wasn't fascinating (it was) nor funny (it was!), but that, with no compelling plot or storyline, I put it down one day and never felt like picking it back up. Harsh, I know. I often see it sitting on the kitchen table, waiting to be read, but as soon as I lift it up, I'm looking for something more catching. Read this book if you love facts and weird trivia but not, necessarily, one plot line.
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Freakin' hilarious. Great quoting material for anyone who takes the english language too seriously. My favorite section had to do with the American Revolution, and some of the famous misquotes attributed to the players - especially the "cleansing" of Ben Franklin, who was apparently a very dirty old man. Also has a great section on the efforts the postal service to tidy up some of the cruder names for local topography. Alas, "Shit-britches Gulch" didn't make the cut.
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Like 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 comment on the improbability of the way the world is. It didn't quite tickly me as much as The Mother Tongue, but this is still a fun book.
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recommended to Chriss by:
my sister, Jessica
recommends it for: Fans of history and folk who like words and etymology
recommends it for: Fans of history and folk who like words and etymology
This is a really fun book. My sister, Jessica, gave it to me for one of my birthdays. In Made in American, Bill Bryson juxtaposes U.S. history with the development of the American ‘dialect’ of the english language. It’s great information and a unique view off both American english and history, all wrapped up in Bryson’s humorous storytelling manner.
My blog has a full review.
My blog has a full review.
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Read in November, 2006
Since I love both language and interesting facts, this book was practically perfect. Bryson is incredibly fun to read, and you learn so many things that make you want to grab whoever happens to be near you at the time and say, "Hey, did you know...?" I especially liked the part about this book dealing with place names. What a fascinating (and entertaining, from Bryson's telling) topic. I highly recommend this book for a great non-fiction read.
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If you ever wanted to more about this American English we speak without diving into Noam Chomsky-esque linguistics, this is the book for you.
Clever little stories for bizarre phrases that all tie together to help explain (not completely, however) why we say much of what we do how we do.
Normally, Bill Bryson's repellent personality gets in the way of enjoying his books. Thankfully, he removed himself as a character in this one.
Clever little stories for bizarre phrases that all tie together to help explain (not completely, however) why we say much of what we do how we do.
Normally, Bill Bryson's repellent personality gets in the way of enjoying his books. Thankfully, he removed himself as a character in this one.
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Read in January, 1998
This was the first Bryson book I read and I loved it - it kept my attention thoroughly - maybe because I was living in England at the time and was partly fascinated by the fact that I had taken up residence in the same town where Bryson got his start writing (the Daily Echo in Bournemouth) - but coincidence aside, the book is fun and pretty informative... there is some linguistic stuff in there that was extra-fun for me...
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I really do love anything Bill Bryson writes. This is a terrific survey of American history, although the language part of it takes a backseat to miscellaneous stories from our country's history. You'll be disappointed if you're looking for a genuine history of word/phrase origins, but if you like good stats, fascinating trivia, witty writing, and general learning, you'll like this one.
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Read in January, 2008
Book's Complete Title (a non-fiction book):
Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the U.S.
Bill Bryson is always a reliable author as far as non-fiction story telling. Made in America isn't as funny as some of his travel adventure tales, but I enjoyed the history lessons worked into the threads of his story about word origins, etc.
Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the U.S.
Bill Bryson is always a reliable author as far as non-fiction story telling. Made in America isn't as funny as some of his travel adventure tales, but I enjoyed the history lessons worked into the threads of his story about word origins, etc.
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recommends it for:
word lovers
It is a Bill Bryson book! He can do no wrong! It's wildly entertaining and informative!
It did take me a while to get through just because there is so much to take in. I could only read it for so long before getting overloaded. But it's a fantastic, interesting book. I laughed, I learned, I pondered words I had never before pondered.
It did take me a while to get through just because there is so much to take in. I could only read it for so long before getting overloaded. But it's a fantastic, interesting book. I laughed, I learned, I pondered words I had never before pondered.
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the purpose of this book is to examine the history of the american language - but i found it much more interesting as a general history of america. it's a great traveling book - easy to keep reading due to the numerous interesting tidbits that bryson presents, while not so gripping as to keep you in the hotel more than necessary.
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