THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS is a wide-ranging account not only of the history of English, but also of how words witness history, reflect social change and remind us of our turbulent past. Henry Hitchings delves into our promiscuous language and reveals how and why it has absorbed words from more than 350 other languages many originating from the most unlikely of places, such as shampoo from Hindi and kiosk from Turkish. This is a celebration of the English language; after reading it, you will never again take the words we use for granted. Informative yet highly accessible.