Where did the phrase ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’ come from? And when did scientists finally get round to naming sexual body parts? Voiced by Clive Anderson, this entertaining romp through 'The History of English' squeezes 1600 years of history into 10 one-minute bites, uncovering the sources of English words and phrases from Shakespeare and the King James Bible to America and the Internet. Bursting with fascinating facts, the series looks at how English grew from a small tongue into a major global language before reflecting on the future of English in the 21st century.
Quirky Quotations: More Than 500 Fascinating, Quotable Comments and the Stories Behind Them
Most reference questions dealing with quotations are either of the who-said-what or of the what-can-I-use-in-my-speech genre. Although this volume might be used in these ways, the lack of an index makes it more of a browsing volume. The author ( The Cat's Pajamas: A Fabulous Fictionary of Familiar Phrases , Fawcett: Ballantine, 1988; Curious Customs: The Stories Behind 296 Popular American Rituals , Harmony: Crown, 1988) deliberately omits the most quoted (Shakespeare, Wilde, Shaw, Mencken, Ecclesiastes) to concentrate on the less well known or off the wall.
"Slumdog Millionaire" - the story of a young boy from the streets of Mumbai who wins popular quiz show 'Who wants to be a millionaire' - won eight Oscars and was a huge box office success. Its strong storyline, set against a fascinating cultural backdrop is sure to appeal to older students.
The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War
Apart from The Last of the Mohicans, most Americans know little of the French and Indian War-also known as the Seven Years' War-and yet it remains one of the most fascinating periods in our history.
