"While there have been many books on the history of globalization to date, most have stressed economics and politics. Cultural globalization, of which the emergence of English as the world's first global language is a prime example, has been comparatively neglected. In this book, the first written about the globalization of the English language by a professional historian, the exploration of English's global ascendancy receives its proper historical due. Historians have traditionally left the history of language to linguists and other language specialists, and this brief, accessible volume breaks new ground in its organization, emphasis on causation, and conclusions."--Publisher's website.