USA Yesterday to Today (Made in America - Bill Bryson)

Name: jamworld

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Product:	Made in America - Bill Bryson
Date:	12/07/00 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Humour, wit, intellect, trivia, history.....

Disadvantages: ?

When Bill Bryson got hold of this subject he sure went to town! I suppose to a certain extent this could be considered as something of a follow up to Mother Tongue, the history of the development of the English language, charting as it does the development of American version of the language. This book though delves deep into the spawning of America and its progression to what it represents to us today.

I would consider this to be Bill's most thorough work, weighing in at almost 500 pages, complete with index, lengthy bibliography and complete chapter reference notes.

Despite the formal sound of all that, rest assured it is written in a very accessible and informal manner.

The history of the language is of course tied strongly to the development of the nation and that forms a great part of the book, examining the formation of the nation and the signing of the constitution, the reasons behind the adoption of English as the official national language, the effects of slavery and immigration as well as the ever improving infrastructure. Oh, and he also covers politics, sport, war, food, media, economics and business, space travel....I told you it was thorough!

I shudder to think how much research went into this book, but because it tells you a bit about everything, it never bores you with too much detail (that isn't to say this is a book of trivia we're dealing with).

The Bryson wit is present throughout, as Bill picks up on every obscure and amusing detail in the subjects he writes about, but you also get the sense from his writing that he probably sat there wide eyed with wonder himself in researching the book as I did sitting reading it.

I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that this books constitutes a phenomenal achievement by a writer who is usually just considered a funny travel writer. Not as consistently funny or immediately enjoyable as Notes From a Small Island et al, but worthy
of the attention of any Bryson fan, anybody with an interest in American history or culture and anybody who wants a good informative read.

Summary: