{"product_id":"empires-of-the-word-a-language-history-of-the-world-isbn-9780060935726","title":"Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Monumental . . . [Ostler's] massive overview of major languages in world history puts the current global spread of English in perspective.”—\u003cem\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn this linguistic \u003cem\u003eThousand and One Nights\u003c\/em\u003e, Nicholas Ostler creates the first history of the world’s great languages,, gloriously celebrating the wonder of words that binds communities together and makes possible both the living of a common history and the telling of it. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the uncanny resilience of Chinese through twenty centuries of invasions to the engaging self-regard of Greek and to the struggles that gave birth to the languages of modern Europe, these epic achievements and more are brilliantly explored, as are the fascinating failures of once \"universal\" languages. A splendid, authoritative, and remarkable work, it demonstrates how the language history of the world eloquently reveals the real character of our planet's diverse peoples and prepares us for a linguistic future full of surprises.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eNicholas Ostler's \u003cem\u003eEmpires of the Word\u003c\/em\u003e is the first history of the world's great tongues, gloriously celebrating the wonder of words that binds communities together and makes possible both the living of a common history and the telling of it. From the uncanny resilience of Chinese through twenty centuries of invasions to the engaging self-regard of Greek and to the struggles that gave birth to the languages of modern Europe, these epic achievements and more are brilliantly explored, as are the fascinating failures of once \"universal\" languages. A splendid, authoritative, and remarkable work, it demonstrates how the language history of the world eloquently reveals the real character of our planet's diverse peoples and prepares us for a linguistic future full of surprises.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Delicious! Ostler’s book shows how certain lucky languages joined humankind in its spread across the world.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJohn McWhorter\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What an extraordinary odyssey the author of this superb work embarked upon.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLiterary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Revolutionary... Executed with a giddying depth of scholarship, yet the detail is never too thick to swamp the general reader.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“True scholarship. A marvelous book, learned and instructive.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNational Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[A] monumental new book... Ostler furnishes many fresh insights, useful historical anecdotes and charming linguistic oddities.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Covers more rambunctious territory than any other single volume I’m aware of...A wonderful ear for the project’s poetry.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJohn Leonard, Harper's Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Revolutionary . . . This is more than ambitious: It’s a colossal undertaking, executed with a giddying depth of scholarship, yet the detail is never too thick to swamp the general reader.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A work of immense erudition.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChristian Science Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A story of dramatic reversals and puzzling paradoxes. A rich... text with many piercing observations and startling comparisons.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Enlightening . . . Always challenging, always instructive--at times, even startling or revolutionary.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Sparkles with arcane knowledge, shrewd perceptions and fresh ideas . . .The sheer sweep of his analysis is breathtaking . . . A book such as this could only have been written by someone of considerable audacity as well as erudition.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement (London)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[A] wide-ranging history of the world’s languages... [Ostler] brilliantly raises questions and supplies answers or theories.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44887527915749,"sku":"NP9780060935726","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780060935726.jpg?v=1730226297","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/empires-of-the-word-a-language-history-of-the-world-isbn-9780060935726","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}