The Adventure of English | 
 enlarge | Author: Melvyn Bragg
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
Category: Book
Buy New: £35.99
New (1) Used (3) from £29.60
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 705687
Format: Audiobook
Media: Audio Cassette
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 4.2 x 0.6
ISBN: 1840328703
Dewey Decimal Number: 428
EAN: 9781840328707
ASIN: 1840328703
Publication Date: October 13, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Great book April 19, 2006
Claudia (Milton Keynes, BUCKS United Kingdom)
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
The Adventure of English, by Melvyn Bragg, is a fascinating biography of the English language (the author claims that English can be viewed as a living organism - thus the term biography instead of history - and, in much of the book, the language's development and quest for survival assumes "living behaviour"). I thoroughly enjoyed this piece of philological / linguistic history that spans over 1500 years, from the invasion of the British Isles by Germanic tribes in the 5th century to the emergence and spreading of many different "families" of English from the 17th century onwards.
The only flaw I found in it was the dismissive treatment given to my mother tongue: Portuguese. I think it should have been given as much importance as Spanish, French and German when other "universal" languages were addressed. A final offside remark: It's a pity that such a great book about language, written by a person who clearly loves words and understands the importance of their accuracy, refers to Brazil's (and South America's) bigest metropolis as São Paolo instead of São Paulo and claims that Portuguese and Spanish are "immediately mutually intelligible" !
 A truly awesome audiobook! October 27, 2005
Jack Oliver (Kent, England)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Melvyn Bragg's account of the evolution of the English language is very well-researched, makes fascinating references to the impact of history, and is exceedingly clear.What raises the work even further is the reading in the audio version by Robert Powell. I would honestly say that this is breathtaking! He reads just how Greek, Latin, French, Friesian, Old Norse, Old English, Middle English, regional dialects, etc have amalgamated over the centuries and freely absorbed from so many other languages. His polyglot weaving through linguistic influences is a unique achievement. A treat!
Unexpected delight January 31, 2005
J. E. Davidson (UK)
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
A fascinating book describing the evolution of the English language. It is a very interesting subject (even more interesting than I had thought before I bought the book) successfully brought to life.The book starts brilliantly and the first half of the book is completely absorbing. - Bragg deals with the development of the English language with great style and insight covering topics like:
- Alfred the Great & Danelaw,
- The Norman Conquest (and the influx of French words),
- Chaucer
- The troubled history of the production of an English language bible (from William Tyndale to Henry VIII),
- The Elizabethan English Renaissance and the Elizabethan poets.
- Shakespeare & his influence on English Later chapters are a bit more disappointing - at times almost turning into word lists - but the early chapters more than compensate for this. Highly recommended
Excellent Book September 2, 2004
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
A great book - very interesting charting of the English language from it Fresian roots to the present day, and also some examples of how English words populated other languages.
 Good, but let down by certain failings March 6, 2004
Gareth Roberts (Edinburgh)
12 out of 23 found this review helpful
Generally very interesting and very good, but I took off two stars for its occasional inaccuracies. These are generally more or less due to hyperbole; in his quest to show that English is better than all other languages, for example, Bragg is sometimes irritatingly and inaccurately dismissive of other languages (e.g. not only Norse, but in his description of English in 1066, of all other European languages).
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