America in So Many Words: Words That Have Shaped America

By David K. Barnhart and Allan Metcalf

Book Overview

This book presents a unique historical view of American English. It chronicles year by year the contributions Americans have made to the vocabulary of English and the words Americans have embraced... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395860202
• ISBN13: 9780395860205
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.4" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

An Interesting Perspective On US History

This book gives the historical background of over three hundred words that are in some way uniquely American-born. Boring, you say? Never! The entries are arranged chronologically and include some words that you might suspect (underground railroad, motel) and quite a few that may surprise you (hello, bathtub, bug). Each entry provides a fascinating look at the people and times that led to the development of the word. An index lets you look up specific words.