Haven't read - but intend to at sometime in the future as it sounds fascinating. In the meantime, I'll let it go.

Released to otakuu by post

Received in the post today from Christeph just in time for my 55th birthday.

I loved the tv programme so i know I will enjoy the book.

Christeph, wherever you are at the moment, thank you very much and i look forward to hearing from you in the future so i can reciprocate

Almost exactly six years after I first received this wonderful book, I managed to make it to the end. It has led me of in search of many books, biographies and histories and I am infinitely the richer for having read it. It has accompanied me through many changes of address and has been my familiar companion for so long that I don't quite know what I will choose to take its place.

Many, many thanks to Christeph for her generosity all those years ago

Handed to FutureCat at a mini meetup. I know she will enjoy it.

If this is the first BookCrossing book you have ever found, Haere Mai - Welcome.
I hope you join me in this wonderful world

Given to me by Otakuu today, who definitely knows where my interests lie - I've been wanting to read this for ages!

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I think I've spoilt myself for reading popular language books - I know a little too much now, so I kept tripping myself up on statements Bragg makes that aren't exactly wrong, but are not exactly right either, but are generally oversimplifications of a much more complicated story. He betrays his amateur status too in missing some of the really interesting stuff while concentrating on the trivial - he merely brushes over the drastic changes happening to syntax (understandably, because some of them are subtle, and tricky to explain to a non-linguist, but their importance is huge, and the theories of how they happened fascinating), and spends a lot of time cataloguing vocabulary changes without going much into the how and why.

But as I said, that's just me knowing a bit too much (albeit limited to a few very narrow areas). I still managed to enjoy the way the book is written - Bragg turns what could be a dry history into, perhaps not an adventure, but at least an interesting voyage, and there were certainly enough points along the way that made me think to make up for the frustration in other parts.

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Given to a friend. Hope you enjoy it!

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I am fairly sure that I picked this book up at a meet up sometime last year.