What is the author's style in The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson?

The book is written in a series of chapters. The opening chapters concentrate on the timeline of linguistic development of all languages before shifting to the specific conditions that created the English language. These chapters provide both a physiological and an historical approach to the development of language.

After establishing the origins of language, Bryson turns to the specific features of the English language that make it unique. His exploration of vocabulary and grammatical structures balances against an interest in the sillier side of language, such as of word games and naming traditions. Included here are also detailed descriptions of the first dictionaries and the methods with which people have organized the English language and how these patterns of organization specifically suit English.