The Adventure of English

The Biography of a Language

By: Melvyn Bragg

Narrated by: Robert Powell

This is the remarkable story of the English language; from its beginnings as a minor guttural Germanic dialect to its position today as a truly established global language.

The Adventure of English is not only an enthralling story of power, religion, and trade, but also the story of people, and how their lives continue to change the extraordinary language that is English.

©2003 Melvyn Bragg (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Both entertaining and informative." (Booklist)
"This 'biography' succeeds in its broad, sweeping narrative." (Publishers Weekly)

The narration adds so much

The evolution of the English language is something that has always interested me, and this book did not disappoint in that regard. However, I REALLY recommend this as an audiobook. Robert Powell's narration is superb and his pronunciation of words in other dialects and languages adds something that is often difficult to pick up just from reading alone.

A True Adventure

I gave this recording and the Bragg book five stars for "story". The text if full of impeccable history but the evolution of a language, the impress of cultures, the social structures in which it is shaped and pronounced and assessed
engages presents the great adventure that it still is to see language change with the times.

While a very cerebral topic, I REALLY enjoyed it

Great narration, very insightful, wow your friends and neighbors by explaining to them the fountain of the language they speak.

Very Interesting!!

What would seem to be a very dull subject is made rather interesting by this book. There are parts where the book drags, but the chapters of Wycliffe, Tyndale, Shakespeare and the King James Bible are just a few of the intriguing highlights of this book.

As some have said, this is a book that is probably BETTER as an audiobook. The reader does a GREAT job with old english and many of the dialects. Hearing someone speak ancient versions of the language (rather than trying to figure out what they were supposed to have sounded like) is a BIG bonus with the audiobook version.

The author also did a great job with describing how dialects occur, even in modern times (such as "Pigeon" dialects). I also thought the discussion of attempts to create a modern "universal" language were quite interesting.

It was also fascinating to learn how many figures of speech originated with Shakespeare, as well as early versions of the English Bible.

Definitely well worth the read!

Fascinating and engrossing!

This is definitely one of those books that is better listened to than read, and I agree with the previous reviews that the narrator is to be commended for his ability to pronounce obsolete words and arcane dialects. (Although I must admit that his attempts at an American accent made me cringe a bit.) My only other criticism is a tiny one: the author's claim that the Northeastern US more or less speaks a single, clear spoken dialect. As a native Bostonian, I must object! That aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It gave me a new understanding and appreciation of my language and enough trivia fodder to make me a cocktail party liability for quite some time.