Polyglot Mario Pei writes about the evolution of language and how language changes. Must have for any classic linguistic or history library. ( )

A bit of a scholarly discussion. Great work spanning languages around the world with many examples used to provide insight to the point given. Provides an overview of language and how it has been addressed through the ages. Goves through a discussion of the major language groups and languages in the world (including some invented languages such as Esperanto). My version is somewhat dated (mid '60s), so some of the figures (population levels, etc) are obviously off, the underlying messages are still valid. I was not enamored with the last several chapters focused on a "universal language" Well worth reading. ( )

Out of print, and a treasure ( )