Native American loanwords are a crucial, though little acknowledged, part of the English language. This book shows how the more than one-thousand current loanwords were adopted and demonstrates how the changing relationships between Indians and European settlers can be traced in the rate of loanword borrowing and the kinds of words adopted.
Jeanette Winterson’s novels have established her as a major figure in world literature. She has written some of the most admired books of the past few decades, including her internationally bestselling first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, the story of a young girl adopted by Pentecostal parents that is now often required reading in contemporary fiction.
‘Look it up in the dictionary!’ – That’s what my mother always told me when I ran across a word I didn’t understand. Good advice, yes? But this was before the internet, and lugging that hefty volume off the shelf wasn’t nearly as appealing as doing the next best thing—guessing at the meaning according to the context of the sentence. And that seemed good enough.
I’ve been doing the same thing for years when it comes to the spoken word. I adopted words I liked, heard often on television, from friends, on the university campus, and read in books, assuming I knew what they meant.
Kineas, the Athenian cavalry commander, has come a long way since being dismissed from the army of Alexander and vengefully exiled by his own city. Together, his mercenary force and their Scythian allies have defeated a mighty Macedonian army at the Ford of the River God, and his adopted city of Olbia is now free once more. But his destiny will not allow him to enjoy the fruits of victory for long.
Glory. Death. Well-born Athenian cavalry officer, Kineas, fought shoulder to shoulder with Alexander in his epic battles against the Persian hordes. But on his return from the east to his native city, he finds not glory but shame - and exile.
