Title: Made in America (Goodreads)
Author: Bill Bryson
Published: Avon, 1994
Pages: 415
Genres: Non-Fiction
My Copy: eBook
Buy: Amazon (or visit your local Indie bookstore)
Although I don’t live in America, it is obvious that they have had a big influence on the English language. Bill Bryson’s Made In America explores the history of America and the effects it had on the language. I found the most interesting parts to do with censorship in America, from titbit becoming tidbit, cockroach becoming roach and to the extreme case of political correction which wanted to stop the use of terms like blackeye and blacksmith (but interestingly enough, not blackout). I feel I’ve gained some valuable insight into why American English is different to the commonly used Queens’ English, while getting a history into commonly used terms. Bill Bryson writes in such a way that it makes this book easy to read and at times humorous, which I feel is what you want in a Non Fiction book.
Hey! Nietzsche! Leave them kids alone!: The Romantic Movement, Rock & Roll, And The End Of Civilisation As We Know It by Craig Schuftan is a non fiction book on the links between The Romantic Movement and Modern Rock music. I absolutely loved this book, it took me 6 months to read because of all the research I did along with it. But I now have a new found obsession with the Romantic Movement and have been reading a lot of great poems from the period.