As is true with most of his books, it is more than it appears. It is the story of America with all its quirks, hidden history and unknown facts. Some are uneasy with the new tales we learn here but when one recognizes that ALL peoples the world around strive to present to the world their best face, it is totally understandable. The same thing goes on today. We do not want to hear of Clinton's everyday obscenity-laced tirades against enemies not of Bush's prediliction to waving his hand and accepting whatever is suggested. No, we prefer a "good economy and wise leadership." We want the story, not the facts.
He begins at the beginning noting how from the very start, we chose to be different than our colonial masters. We developed a way of speaking that was "American". If, as some scientists have predicted, the two forms of English continue to separate, American English may replace the mother tongue.
Bryson is full of little-known facts (some disputable) but one of his main thesis is that despite the size of the continent our own brand became more uniform within a few years than that spoken in the small mother country today. We made learning and speaking a uniform English a second religion. He notes that our incredible industrial energies produced inventions and new names which continues today. The book not only looks at the history of the tongue but at specific areas (entertainment, politics, commerce, religion) in which wehave produced our own peculiar speech. All in all a delightful read.
