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.

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.

The author was struck one day by the thought that we devote a lot more time to studying the battles and wars of history than to considering what history really consists of. This inspired him to start a journey around his own house, considering how the ordinary things in life came to be. This book is about the history of the way we live.

The author's first travel book, The Lost Continent, was unanimously acclaimed as one of the funniest books in years. In this book, he deals with Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hammerfest, the northernmost town on the continent, to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia.

It is the driest, flattest, hottest, most desiccated, infertile and climatically aggressive of all the inhabited continents and still Australia teems with life - a large portion of it quite deadly.Ignoring such dangers - and yet curiously obsessed by them - Bill Bryson journeyed to Australia and promptly fell in love with the country.