Have you ever wondered about the origins of Americanisms such as "lunch" and "cafeteria"? Or maybe you're interested in words that originated from the movies or sports. Bill Bryson gives you a whirlwind tour of all this and more in his "informal history of the English language in the United States."

Beginning with the Pilgrims and making his way through both chronologically and thematically to recent times, Bryson has a way of highlighting the humorous aspects of history and linguistic quirkiness of our language. Some of interesting tidbits (note: a word that was originally "titbits" and changed in order to be less offensive) I learned included:

--Englishmen bemoaning Americanisms entering the language is nothing new
--the Pilgrims had three or four different names and types of mush
--during the American Revolution, people were not unconcerned with spelling, but merely had more variants to choose from (and even argue about!)

I'll have about as much fun recommending this book as I did reading it! ( )

I enjoy Bryson's mind. It wanders similarly to mine. He discusses many things which are peculiar to America. Interesting. ( )

Funny, interesting and informative. One fact that sticks with me is that every town in America had its own time until the railroad decided clock time needed to be standardized. What that has to do with American English I don't remember, but that's how Bryson's writing is--there are lots of fascinating side stories. ( )

2nd book of bryson i've read, funny, insightful and observations

Witty and informative historical tour of the changes in American society as reflected in its language ( )