Alpha Beta: How Our Alphabet Changed the Western World

"Ultimately, Alpha Beta offers a rediscovery of the alphabet's vital contribution to our sense of identity. For while the Western world of today is divided by languages, it remains largely united by the alphabet. And, as John Man makes clear, from pre-alphabetic systems to the recording of human speech, from the oral traditions of our ancestors to the literacy of our children, the deceptive simplicity of "ABC" holds within it a rich history."--BOOK JACKET.