The Story of English: Third Revised Edition

Now revised, The Story of English is the first book to tell the whole story of the English language. Originally paired with a major PBS miniseries, this book presents a stimulating and comprehensive record of spoken and written English—from its Anglo-Saxon origins some two thousand years ago to the present day, when English is the dominant language of commerce and culture with more than one billion English speakers around the world. From Cockney, Scouse, and Scots to Gulla, Singlish, Franglais, and the latest African American slang, this sweeping history of the English language is the essential introduction for anyone who wants to know more about our common tongue.

The renowned and lavishly illustrated history of the evolution of the English language and the companion to PBS's acclaimed series--now completely revised and expanded. "Rarely has the English language been scanned so brightly and broadly in a single volume."--San Francisco Chronicle. Illustrations.

Originally written in tandem with a 1986 TV series (produced by one of the authors) and updated in 1992, this introduction to the leading global language traces its evolution, varieties, and debates over its future. McCrum is a retired British editor; MacNeil retired from The McNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Library Journal

A tie-in for a nine-part television series to be broadcast over PBS beginning in September, this is a wide-ranging account of the travels and changes of the English tongue from its beginnings to tomorrow, from England to America to Australia to Africa and India and the Pacific. Despite an occasionally perceptible British bias, the authors have tried hard to paint a colorful, vivid picture of the many faces and varieties of English. The text is never dull, but is enlivened by innumerable examples and by interviews with representative individuals: a minister in Scotland, a couple from the Appalachians, a storekeeper in Newfoundland, a Philadelphia shoeshine man, a cockney fruitseller, an Australian farm family, the president of Sierra Leone, a writing professor in India. A readable book that all public libraries should have. BOMC alternate. Catherine V. von Schon, SUNY, Stony Brook

Robert McCrum, now literary editor of London's Observer, was the editor-in-chief of the publishing firm Faber & Faber in London for nearly 20 years. The author of six highly acclaimed novels and coauthor of the bestselling The Story of English, his latest work is an illuminating look at the life of one of his literary heroes, P. G. Wodehouse.