The Stories of English

The groundbreaking history of the English language, fusing chronological with anecdotal and etymological accounts of individual word-histories, to create not ONE story, by many stories. Alongside standard English we have a rich variety of the language from around the world. "This new history of the English language in all its manifestations is among the best ever written, and is both entertaining and informative." Steven Pinker, author of The Language Instinct "Simply the best introductory history of the English language family that we have. The plan of the book is ingenious, the writing lively, the exposition clear, and the scholarly standard uncompromisingly high.' J. M. Coetzee (Nobel Prize for fiction 2003)