I'm not wholly anti american but I do resent the level to which its culture has been merged with ours through mass media and understand very well people like the French who persist in trying to maintain the purity of their language.

It really is the power and higher culture thing of the US for me as I think dialectical difference and a language's development is what keeps it alive and I savour other differences such as Irish English, Scots English and Ozzie English but just can't tolerate so many americanisms within our language as they haven't earned their place there for me.

The David Crystal books are excellent on the English language as is the one by Melvyn Bragg. The OU do a really good course (which I started but couldn't finish) which looks at the development of the language in the context of historical and cultural developments of Britain, and how languages continue to evolve.
The power of language will always hold a fascination for me as it really is where power and political influence of any kind begins in our society. Grasp the ability to throttle your opponents syntax or sentence and you've won the argument! Fascinating stuff.