Books on History of AmE?

[AAllan at AOL.COM]

  Mencken is still the most comprehensive historian, but look for this
relatively updated version:

H.L. Mencken, The American Language. One-volume abridged edition. Edited by
Raven I. McDavid, Jr. New York: Knopf, 1963.

   Marckwardt's basic history was revised to this:

Albert H. Marckwardt, American English; revised by J.L. Dillard. New York :
Oxford University Press, 1980.

  And then, if you're just interested in the development of the American
vocabulary, you might look for (ahem):

David K. Barnhart and Allan A. Metcalf, America in So Many Words.  Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1997.

- Allan Metcalf