By Hook Or By Crook

Crystal sets off on a delightfully discursive journey through the groves and thickets of the English language, combining personal reflections, historical allusions, and traveler's observations to create a mesmerizing and entertaining narrative account of his encounters with the language and its speakers. Starting in his home of Wales and moving from England all the way to Poland and off to San Francisco, Crystal encounters numerous linguistic side roads that he cannot resist exploring. All are subject to Crystal's inquisitive exploration--from pubs to trains to Tolkien--and each digression casts new light on the development of English as it is spoken today. This is a linguistic travelogue like no other, and an attempt to capture the seductive, quirky, teasing, tantalizing nature of the language itself--a jaunty Bill Bryson-esque exploration of language by a foremost expert on the subject.--From publisher description.