I received this book as a "welcome to America" gift and I have hardly taken my nose out of it since! It's just what I was looking for: the only book I know of that treats systematically the differences between British and American English, and I did look for something on this before coming here. The two introductory chapters, on the differences between spelling and grammar, are alone worth the cost of admission: I have never seen this subject laid out so thoroughly, knowledgeably, and with such a sense of humour to boot! It is a great help to me as I try to negotiate various American institutions in real life, having done it only from a transatlantic distance before. I wish I'd had this book years ago, but as it is only just published, I guess that wasn't possible. The thematic chapters, which take up a large part of the book, are arranged to provide a great deal of related vocabulary in the same place and this has proved very helpful; for example, the summary descriptions of the American and British criminal justice systems, with all the pertinent terminology highlighted. I have even learned the odd fact about my own native (British) institutions, and understand what Chancery is at last! Don't miss the chapter on offensive language and the cross-cultural misunderstandings that may arise around this! I hardly stopped laughing. Recommend very highly, for any speaker of English who travels, reads, or talks between the US and UK and wants to get the definitive answers for just what the differences are between the top two dialects of the world's first language.
