Alphabetical: How Every Letter Tells a Story Contributor(s): Rosen, Michael (Author) |
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ISBN: 161902702X ISBN-13: 9781619027022 Publisher: Counterpoint LLC
WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD! Click here for our low price guarantee Binding Type: Paperback - See All Available Formats & Editions Published: February 2016 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Language Arts & Disciplines | Alphabets & Writing Systems |
Dewey: 421.1 |
Physical Information: 1.2" H x 5.5" W x 8.7" L (1.20 lbs) 256 pages |
Features: Price on Product |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: How on Earth did we fix upon our twenty-six letters, what do they really mean, and how did we come to write them down in the first place? Michael Rosen takes you on an unforgettable adventure through the history of the alphabet in twenty-six vivid chapters, fizzing with personal anecdotes and fascinating facts. Starting with the mysterious Phoenicians and how sounds first came to be written down, he races on to show how nonsense poems work, pins down the strange story of OK, traces our five lost letters and tackles the tyranny of spelling, among many many other things. His heroes of the alphabet range from Edward Lear to Phyllis Pearsall (the inventor of the A-Z), and from the two scribes of Beowulf to rappers. Each chapter takes on a different subject - whether it's codes, umlauts or the writing of dictionaries. Rosen's enthusiasm for letters positively leaps off the page, whether it's the story of his life told through the typewriters he's owned or a chapter on jokes written in a string of gags and word games. This is the book for anyone who's ever wondered why Hawaiian only has a thirteen-letter alphabet or how exactly to write down the sound of a wild raspberry. |
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