"A joyous ride through time, where readers can criss-cross the British Isles and the world at large to land in 100 contrasting places and light on 100 wonderful topics that bring the extraordinary story of the English language alive. Any selection of places is inevitably personal. Nevertheless, a number of criteria have directed the selection process in this book. Some places represent historic firsts, some are tied to significant people, and some have seen events that have shaped the future of English. Each one takes the reader on an unmissable journey into the rich past of the English tongue. What began as the language of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes on a small island has become a global property owned and shaped by almost 2 billion English speakers across the world. English has borrowed words from more than 350 languages, and many more languages have borrowed words from ..." --Publisher description.