“…The book begins with this protest, and it explores how the threat of dam construction transformed the seemingly apolitical love of the river into a powerful political force around which thousands of people mobilized: riverine citizenship. …”

Tabla de Contenidos: “…Language, history, and language and history / Nigel Love -- The end of linear narrative? : Reflections on the historiography of English / Roger Lass -- History and comparative philology / Roy Harris -- Word-stories : etymology as history / Christopher Hutton -- Language, object or event? …”

“…Half Dutch, half British, and from a family of Anglo-German Jews, Buruma is the perfect loving, critical, satirical observer of Europe's often comical and sometimes deadly prejudices. …”