I must confess, I have become enthralled in the history of English, of the language that is in itself a mongrel language. 

For any of you that have an interest, David Crystal's book, The Stories of English, is exceptional.  Where other histories are dogmatic about the lineage of the language, Crystal allows for the many variables that have influenced the language. 

(This is the one textbook I have purchased so far, and I got it a B & N!)

How did the language of a tiny group of people manage to become the language of 1.5 billion people worldwide?  It's quite a trip!