Proto

'Thought-provoking … A lively and fascinating account of how these languages split from their root, developed in different ways, mingled with each other, crossed tracks, flourished and died. I loved it!' David Bellos, author of Is That a Fish in your Ear? 'Formidably researched but lightly written, I put down this book with the pleasurable sense that the world around me had become a little stranger and richer.' Helen Gordon, author of Notes from Deep Time 'Proto is a real detective story told with a compelling combination of academic rigour, human interest, vivid description, and personal biography. A tour de force.' 'Truly fascinating. This beautifully researched and written book is about far more than language; it is a history of the world in microcosm, drawing together a diversity of subjects from genetics and religion to warfare and boozing. I highly recommend this wholly absorbing book.' Douglas Preston, author of #1 New York Times bestselling The Lost City of the Monkey God David Crystal, author of A Date with Language ‘Hooray for a book where the author's curiosity, diligence, and literary craft gets it all down – the language, the archaeology, the DNA – in what will stand as the go-to source for a generation at least.’ John McWhorter, author of New York Times bestselling Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter ‘Six millennia ago, Proto-Indo-European was just one dialect among the many spoken by the nomadic peoples who roamed Eurasia. Laura Spinney’s erudite and highly entertaining text is full of refreshing new insights as she tells the fascinating and romantic story of this dialect that spread across the world.’ Professor Peter Trudgill FBA PRAISE FOR PALE RIDER 'Not just an excavation but a reimagining of the past' Guardian 'Magisterial' Observer ‘Weaves together global history and medical science to great effect … Riveting’ Sunday Times 'Impressive … packed with fascinating, quirky detail' Nature 'Wonderfully absorbing' BBC History Magazine