Read Online Made in America Audible Audio Edition Bill Bryson William Roberts Audible Studios Books

Product details Audible Audiobook Listening Length 18 hours and 10 minutes Program Type Audiobook Version Unabridged Publisher Audible Studios Audible.com Release Date January 16, 2006 Language English, English ASIN B000E6G928

Made in America Audible Audio Edition Bill Bryson William Roberts Audible Studios Books Reviews

• I enjoyed this book but it was not my favorite Bill Bryson book. It's interesting and has a lot of trivia about the U.S. and how language in this country evolved but, IMO, was kind of dry. I have read quite a few of Bryson's books and most have been very engaging but, for some reason, this one was not.
  
  I have heard that there is some incorrect information in this book. I am not knowledgeable enough to comment on that, however, normally it's not even the content of a Bryson book that makes it interesting, it's his writing style. You start reading and next thing you know you are on some great journey with an old friend. For whatever the reason, this book seemed to lack that specialness which makes him such a great writer.
• Bryson is amazing. Of course, he writes well. Of course, he chooses interesting topics. What is not "of course" is how much he packs into so few words. Every sentence is worth reading, and when I am through with an article or section, I know that it is worth rereading. Since I find this quality in about 1 out every 20 books i read, he is one of the few authors I intend to collect fully and read repeatedly.
• I am a huge Bill Bryson fan and an English teacher, so I pre-ordered the book and wasn't disappointed. It does include a lot of American history, most of which I already knew, but it includes lots of captivating anecdotes so it doesn't feel like a history book. Some of the expressions I wasn't familiar with, but it's always fun to learn more. Well worth the read
• I read as far as the first chapter, then threw the book away. That chapter, which dealt with the "settlement of America by the Pilgrims" (ever hear of Jamestown???) was so full of historical inaccuracies I couldn't believe it. Chronology was way off, especially as it related to Bartholomew Goswald's brief settlement on Cuttyhunk, and Roger Williams in Connecticut (try Rhode Island), to note just two. Considering the author's failure to fact-check his historical sources, I have zero confidence that anything else he writes can be trusted to be factual. Given that lack of confidence, the book was a waste of money. Don't waste yours.
• Bill Bryson's "...History of the English Language in the United States" is classic Bryson Fascinating, Scholarly, Caustic, Funny and Quixotic While the book certainly contains an etymology of many words; I also found it to be a serious (funny) investigation of some odd byways of USA history. As my long suffering wife will attest, it's one of those rare books where I simply HAD TO break away from the book to tell someone the fascinating thing I just read.
  
  If you're unfamiliar with Bryson, '...Informal History..." would be a good place to become addicted to this extraordinary author.
• If you've ever wondered how Squanto could've helped out the Pilgrims when they didn't speak each others' language; if you've always wanted to find out where Americanisms like skedaddle and keister came from; if you want to know (to paraphrase another of Bryson's books) How The American Language Got That Way, this book is for you. Starting with the Mayflower and winding up with the space age, Bryson recounts the results of exhaustive research, but tells it in such a breezy, witty way that you wish this book would never stop. Right up there with his A Walk In The Woods and A Short History Of Nearly Everything.
• Very interesting book! It does a great job of telling this history of American English by going through the history of the United States and drawing out how words came into being used. As always, Bryson writes in a way that is informative and entertaining.
• I enjoyed reading this book and found many of his insights interesting. He has a droll sense of humor which added to the content. He did ramble a lot and some of the subject matter seemed unrelated.
  The other problem I had is that parts of the book seem outdated with the current historical and political atmosphere. Some of our politicians would be well advised to read his last two chapters.
  Well worth the time reading.