The Language Wars: A History of Proper English by Henry Hitchings is out now. It is one of those books that I would definitely like to have a look at. You can take a look, and even watch the author talk about it here.
I would love to order a copy right now - a Kindle edition if possible (please!) - but here is the thing: it is available only in the UK right now, as far as I know. Not yet in Japan, in the US, or in Canada. Why, oh why? Is this the British Empire striking back?
This is not the first time, and I have never got used to this. Yes, I can order one from amazon.uk. Yes, I can sort of understand it takes time to put ink on paper. But why not just release a digital version internationally?
OK, at least I have something to look forward to. And you know about the book now. That's good.
1 comment:
I have to agree. After all, aren't they all the same group?
I suppose it's the publishers - if the book isn't being published in the US by the same people, the ability to buy the Kindle version from amazon.co.uk would cut into their profits. (Remember how very quickly Scholastic learned to publish Harry Potter on the same day that Bloomsbury published? They lost a lot of money when they - having forgotten the Internet or perhaps merely underestimated the public's willingness to pay for shipping - asked people to wait four months.
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