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A Really Short History of Words
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  • Published: 15 October 2024
  • ISBN: 9780241666173
  • Imprint: Puffin
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 128
  • RRP: $55.00

A Really Short History of Words

An illustrated edition of the bestselling book about the English language

Formats & editions
Tr. Paperback
14 Oct 2025
Hardback
15 Oct 2024
EBook
17 Oct 2024
EBook
10 Oct 2024
Audiobook
17 Oct 2024
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The brand-new children's book from Bill Bryson - all about the amazing English language.

Every day, you do something incredible, and I bet you barely ever think about it: you speak.

Ever wondered why the English language turned out how it did?

Why do we have so many different words for just one thing?

And why are so many words spelt the same but sound different?

In this beautifully illustrated journey through word and rhyme - and even a few jokes - Bill Bryson will teach you how the English language came to be (clue: lots of invasions) and what makes it a rich and beautiful thing (lots of Shakespeare).

Get ready . . . because the story of the English language is an EXTRAORDINARY one.
  • Published: 15 October 2024
  • ISBN: 9780241666173
  • Imprint: Puffin
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 128
  • RRP: $55.00
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About the author

Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson’s bestselling books include The Road to Little Dribbling, Notes from a Small Island, A Walk in the Woods, One Summer, I’m a Stranger Here Myself, In a Sunburned Country, Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words, and The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. His acclaimed work of popular science A Short History of Nearly Everything won the Aventis Prize and the Descartes Prize and is the bestselling nonfiction book of the twenty-first century. Bill Bryson was a chancellor of Durham University, is an honorary fellow of the Royal Society, and lives in England.
portrait photo of Bill Bryson

Also by Bill Bryson

A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0
The Body
At Home
A Really Short History of Nearly Everything
The Road to Little Dribbling
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Mother Tongue
See all