"A literate exploration of why we use--or mangle--our native tongue.
Author(s): Bill Bryson
432 Pages
Language + Art + Disciplines, Language Arts
Description
About the Book
Bill Bryson, author of the national bestseller The Mother Tongue, takes an informed and affectionate look at the history of the U.S. from the perspective of language and popular culture..
Book Synopsis
"A literate exploration of why we use--or mangle--our native tongue."--USA Today
Bill Bryson celebrates America's magnificent offspring in the book that reveals once and for all how a dusty western hamlet with neither woods nor holly came to be known as Hollywood...and exactly why Mr. Yankee Doodle call his befeathered cap "Macaroni."
From the Back Cover
Bill Bryson, bestselling author of The Mother Tongue, now celebrates its magnificent offspring in the book that reveals once and for all how a dusty western hamlet with neither woods nor holly came to be known as Hollywood . . . and exactly why Mr. Yankee Doodle called his befeathered cap "Macaroni."
Review Quotes
"Delightful...relentlessly, exuberantly informative...a potted history of the United States, presenting aspects of American life from cooking to swearing, from warring to shopping." - Washington Post Book World
"From slavery, immigration and Westward expansion to advertising, sex and shopping malls, he provides scads of fascinating, often little-known facts and anecdotes that, far from glutting his reader's appetites, should leave them hungry for more." - Wall Street Journal
"A terrific book, likely to make its readers chuckle if not guffaw...If more high schools used thisas their history text, the course might be one of the morepopular ones in school." - Denver Post
Dimensions (Overall): 7.9 Inches (H) x 5.2 Inches (W) x 1.2 Inches (D)
Weight: .8 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Number of Pages: 432
Genre: Language + Art + Disciplines
Sub-Genre: Language Arts
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Theme: Historical & Comparative
Format: Paperback
Author: Bill Bryson
Language: English
Street Date: March 1, 1996
TCIN: 87339615
UPC: 9780380713813
Item Number (DPCI): 247-09-5782
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
If the item details aren’t accurate or complete, we want to know about it.
Shipping details
Estimated ship dimensions: 1.2 inches length x 5.2 inches width x 7.9 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 0.8 pounds
We regret that this item cannot be shipped to PO Boxes.
This item cannot be shipped to the following locations: American Samoa (see also separate entry under AS), Guam (see also separate entry under GU), Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico (see also separate entry under PR), United States Minor Outlying Islands, Virgin Islands, U.S., APO/FPO, Alaska, Hawaii
Return details
This item can be returned to any Target store or Target.com.
This item must be returned within 90 days of the date it was purchased in store, delivered to the guest, delivered by a Shipt shopper, or picked up by the guest.