Haven't read any
since University myself. 'The Story of English in 100 words' is meant to be a decent read though.
If you want to get comprehensive on the history of the English Language in particular, Baugh and Cable's History of English is the standard, but can be a bit dry.
If it's linguistics itself, without having to deal with all the psychology and neuroscience in Pinker, the Oxford Very Short Introduction would be a good place to start
(, Thu 5 Sep 2013, 12:26, Share, Reply)
I'd also recommend Razzle Big Jugs Special
as a key critical text. In my opinion it trumps Pregnant Asian Babes 4 and Baugh and Cable's History of English.
(
herd of chickens First part only £1.99 and comes with a free, Thu 5 Sep 2013, 12:38,
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Reply)