Made in America - by Bill Bryson (Paperback)

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

"A treat ... filled with surprises ... a literate exploration ofwhy we use -- or mangle-our native tongue."-- "USA Today""Plain fun ... a terrific book, likely to make its readerschuckle if not guffaw ... Bryson manages to demolish somecherished American myths ... If more high schools used thisas their history text, the course might be one of the morepopular ones in school."-- "Denver Post""Romping through history and folk customs, Bill Bryson hascompiled a highly entertaining book about the growth ofAmerican English ... Enjoy it, learn from it, laugh at thefoibles of our peculiar tongue."-- "Atlanta Journal and Constitution""A wonderfully entertaining and informative history ofAmerican English, of how it and the country and its peopledeveloped ... Bryson captured me easily within the first 20pages of his engaging, information-packed book."-- "Des Moines Register""A treasure trove of trivia about American culturepast and present."-- "Publishers Weekly""Read this lively treatment of the development of American English . . . this book is no lemon--It's a peach!"-- "People"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"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