Can anyone tell me whether this book, The History of Britain Revealed: The Shocking Truth About the English Language is a piss take or not?
I first saw it in WHSmiths a few months ago and had a flick through. It looks like total rubbish to me (the language we call “English” predates all other languages spoken here, including the one we call “Old English”) but possibly interesting rubbish. All the references I can find to it online take it seriously, even when pointing out the flaws in substance and style. But, look at the Amazon page and the quotes from - “proper”, not Amazon punters - reviewers, in particular:
‘The best re-writing of history since 1066 And All That.’
Fortean Times
So, clever spoof or serious kookery? And would I even be able to tell if I handed over some cash and read the damn thing?
[Update] - within hours of posting I received this e-mail (quoted with permission):
Hi-ho, Steve. I’m the author. If you have a look here you’ll be able to decide whether to go ahead or not.
http://www.applied-epistemology.orgKind regards
Mick Harper
curious
No idea on that one, but Melvyn Bragg’s “The Adventure of English - the biography of a language” is a decent one.
My guess is that this new one is not intended as a piss take, but judging from the customer reviews of it on the page you suggested, I’d be wary of it… unless you like stuff like The Beginning was the end.
The first review is strongly suggestive to me that he doesn’t provide enough justification as to why we should believe him rather than other historians. Buy it by all means, read the arguments, but expect it to be flawed. That way you’re guaranteed to avoid disappointment (if it isn’t flawed, you’re a winner!)