As languages change and show more flexibility, the need to update histories of languages such as English continues, as the editors of this book, Richard Hogg and David Denison, explain. The editors divide the book into two major parts distributed over nine chapters. One part deals with the fundamental aspects of the internal and structural history of English, and the other with the functions and varieties of the language.

In the first chapter, the editors summarize the roots of English and the early and later history related to immigration, invasion, migration, and emigration. They discuss language change and cite some well-known studies, such as Labov 1994 and Milroy 1987. Roger Lass provides an informative and detailed account of phonology and morphology in the history of English. He talks extensively about Old English vowels, consonants, stress, morphemes, and the verb. Olga Fischer & Wim van der Wurff overview the history of English syntax. They focus on the main changes in syntax and discuss the factors that have caused these changes, providing a three-page table that shows these changes over three main periods, Old, Middle and Modern English. Then they deal with the history of the main parts of speech, tense, mood, and modals of English.

Dieter Kastovsky treats the vocabulary of the language and focuses on lexical changes and structures in relation to morphology and semantics. Kastovsky divides the chapter into sections on Old, Middle and Modern English. In the latter part of the paper, he mentions many examples of words English has borrowed from other languages. Terttu Nevalainen & Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade discuss standardization in English, going through the rise and development of Standard English in grammar, spelling, vocabulary, register and pronunciation. Richard Coates discusses the theoretical preliminaries for the linguistic and historical study of personal and place names.

The last three chapters deal with varieties of English. Richard Hogg examines British English, from the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons until very recently, drawing upon different varieties of British English. American English is examined by Edward Finegan, beginning with the colonial period, then the national period and finally the modern period. English worldwide is addressed by David Crystal, focusing on the topic of global English and the reasons why English came to be a global language.

The book contains suggestions for further reading as well as 34 pages of references. It is, without doubt, a must in the library of every student of English. It would be invaluable on the shelves of every school library as well. It could also be used as a textbook by undergraduate students of English.