![The Mother Tongue: English & How It Got That Way](https://nationalbookswap.com/pbs/m/59/8959/9780688078959.jpg)
![](/images/spacer.gif?v=90afaeb39)
Ellen O. (Sherlock) reviewed on + 12 more book reviews
Bill Bryson discusses the history of the English language and explains many of the quirks and oddities (such as why "four" has a "u" but "forty" doesn't). It is not a grammar book, but a book about how English is used and misused.