With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson--the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent--brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't), to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries.

This collection of travel articles includes contributions written by writers such as Bill Buford and Ryszard Kapuscinski, and range across myriads from New York's Central Park to to the Saharan Mauritania.

Was ist das für ein Land, in dem so unaussprechliche Namen wie Llywyngwril auf den Ortsschildern stehen? Wo Kekse gereicht werden, die jedes Gebiß bedrohen? Von den Kalkfelsen Dovers bis ins rauhe schottische Thurso erkundet Bryson die eigentümliche Weit jenseits des Ärmelkanals und kommt zu dem Schluß: England muß man einfach lieben -ganz gleich, wie wunderlich es einem zuweilen erscheinen mag.

From bestselling author Bill Bryson comes this compelling short biography of William Shakespeare, our greatest dramatist and poet.

Packed with fascinating facts on the English language, 'Mother Tongue' is an entertaining and didactic investigation of the influence and distribution of the language worldwide and its origins as a second-rate tongue spoken by peasants.

Should you ever split an infinitive? What's the difference between aiding and abetting? The English language is a minefield of difficulty. In this new edition of his book, Bill Bryson discusses the problems and offers advice on usage.

This title is Bill Bryson's quest to find out everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. On his travels through time and space, Bill Bryson takes us with him on the ultimate eye-opening journey, and reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.

After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson took the decision to move back to the States for a while but before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire, Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite, a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy, place names like Farleigh Wallop and Shellow Bowells, people who said 'Mustn't grumble', and Gardeners' Question Time.

In the summer of 1927, America had a booming stock market, a president who worked just four hours a day (and slept much of the rest), a devastating flood of the Mississippi, a sensational murder trial, and an unknown aviator named Charles Lindbergh who became the most famous man on earth. It was the summer that saw the birth of talking pictures, the invention of television, the peak of Al Capone's reign of terror, the horrifying bombing of a school in Michigan, the thrillingly improbable return to greatness of an over-the-hill baseball player named Babe Ruth, and an almost impossible amount...

In 1995, before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire to move back to the States for a few years with his family, the author insisted on taking one last trip around Britain. This book tells about his experiences.