Author(s): Nicholas Ostler

Non-Fiction

An unusual and authoritative 'natural history of languages' that narrates the ways in which one language has superseded or outlasted another in the past, and what it is about -- say -- Greek, Sanskrit, Mandarin Chinese and English that has led to their supremacy at different times. / A lively, witty and controversial history of the world viewed through the rise and fall, dissemination and decimation of different languages. / Written without jargon and in a refreshingly unacademic manner, the book is designed to appeal to a wide general readership and anyone interested in the ways in which languages work.