Made in America - Wyrmsign.org

No cover — Bill Bryson: Made in America (2015, HarperCollins Publishers)

English language

Published Oct. 17, 2015 by HarperCollins Publishers.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-241741-1

(1 review)

Bill Bryson turns away from the highways and byways of middle America, so hilariously depicted in his bestselling The Lost Continent, for a fast, exhilarating ride along the Route 66 of American language and popular culture.

In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land - explaining how a dusty desert hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up - as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.

7 editions

Finserra reviewed Made in America by Bill Bryson

Review of 'Made in America' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Detailed and panoramic, this informal history of the AMERICAN language will teach you more about the language you really use every day than most scholarly books on American English. It is very well researched, but lively. I would not encourage it as a quick-read, but it is a must-read. While it is now over 20 years old, and contains a dated reference or observation or two, it is still very relevant in its main points. It's closing thoughts on immigration are prescient.