Alpha beta : how 26 letters shaped the Western world
Praise for Alpha Beta"This book comes at the perfect moment as we rediscover the importance in early reading of cracking the alphabetic code. The story of how that code came into being is a fascinating one, and Man is the ideal writer to tell it." Times Educational Supplement"A richly absorbing exploration, from B.C. to PCs, of the evolution of the most fundamental characters of our cultural history, the alphabet we so much take for granted. John Man writes with a compellingly restless curiosity and immediacy. The ever surprising, exotically detailed narrative in his informative book makes it
History
1 online resource (312 pages) : map
9780471211693, 0471211699
49415150
Introduction : Of giants and genius
The trouble with pictures
The bearable burden of syllables
Letters in the wilderness
The search for the perfect alphabet
Into Sinai
The land of purple
The selfish alphabet
The great leap forward
Why we don't write Etruscan
The limits to growth
Originally published: London : Headline Book, 2000
Map on lining papers
Electronic reproduction, [Place of publication not identified], HathiTrust Digital Library, 2010