Letter Perfect: The Marvelous History of Our Alphabet From A to Z
Sacks, David
ISBN 10: 0767911733 ISBN 13: 9780767911733
Published by Crown, 2004
Used
Soft cover
From
World of Books (was SecondSale), Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
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About this Item
Description:
Item in very good condition! Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00103505973
Synopsis:
A fun, lively, and learned excursion into the alphabet—and cultural history.
Letters are tangible language. Joining together in endless combinations to actually show speech, letters convey our messages and tell our stories. While we encounter these tiny shapes hundreds of times a day, we take for granted the long, fascinating history behind one of the most fundamental of human inventions: the alphabet.
The heart of the book is the 26 fact-filled “biographies” of letters A through Z, each one identifying the letter’s particular significance for modern readers, tracing its development from ancient forms, and discussing its noteworthy role in literature and other media. We learn, for example, why the letter X has a sinister and sexual aura, how B came to signify second best, why the word “mother” in many languages starts with M, and what is the story of O.
Packed with information and lavishly illustrated, Letter Perfect is accessible, entertaining, and essential to the appreciation of our own language.
About the Author: DAVID SACKS is author of the Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World. His articles mainly on cultural topics have appeared in the New York Times Book Review, the Wall Street Journal, the Ottawa Citizen, and dozens of magazines. He lives in Ottawa, Ontario.
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Bibliographic Details
Title: Letter Perfect: The Marvelous History of Our...
Publisher: Crown
Publication Date: 2004
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Very Good