Preface This book attempts a voyage of discovery among the letters of the alphabet. Like islands of an archipelago, the 26 letters will be visited and explored, one at a time. Each island’s geography and local lore will be examined briefly, also its relationship to other islands in the navigational stream. Some islands may prove more lush or lofty than others. But any one will yield substantial mental nourishment to visitors, along with glorious vistas onto language, literature, and history of the past 4,000 years. Where do our letters come from? How did they get their shapes, their assigned sounds, their sequence, immortalized in our “Alphabet Song”? Why do we use “Roman” letters for English–also for Spanish, Czech, Turkish, Swahili, Vietnamese, and many others–while some languages (Russian, Greek, Arabic, Hindi, etc.) use different types of letters? What is a letter, exactly? What’s an alphabet? These are among questions to be answered with authority and zest. And smaller questions, perhaps more intriguing. Why is X the unknown? What isThe Story of O? Where did Irish rock band U2 get its name? Why does “mother” start with M? What’s Q’s source of pride? Which two letters came last to the alphabet? (Answer: J and V.) Why is Z called “zee” in the United States but “zed” in Britain and other Commonwealth countries? Which animal did A originally symbolize? (An ox: the A’s legs were horns, pointing upward, 3,000 years ago.) Every letter has its own chapter here. Typically, the chapter briefly explains the letter’s origin in ancient Near Eastern alphabets, including the Phoenician alphabet of 1000 B.C. (In this aspect, the book has benefited from a spectacular archaeological discovery made public in A.D. 1999 that placed the alphabet’s invention in Egypt, sometime around 2000 B.C.) Each chapter traces its letter’s history through ancient Greece and Rome, medieval England, and subsequent stages, and discusses the letter’s noteworthy roles in literature, traditional iconography, modern marketing and pop culture, and other categories. V for Victory. Presidential “Dubya” (W). Xbox,X-Files, X-Men. Each chapter tries, where possible, to find the letter’s single chief significance for modern readers–its “personality,” as expressed through speech or visual media. For instance, letter A means quality. B is forever second best. C is inconsistent in sound: Its troubles with commitment stem from an unstable childhood. O’s shape can be highly inviting. S is the letter of the serpent, whether for evil or for nature. N needs your nose for pronunciation. And H, phonetically, barely qualifies as a letter at all. Beyond the letters themselves, this book is partly about languages: English first of all, but also Latin, Greek, ancient Semitic tongues (of which Hebrew is the closest modern equivalent), medieval and modern French and other Romance tongues, and German, all relevant to the story of our 26 letters. While I don’t speak every one of those languages, I have background in a few and have strived for accuracy in research. The book uses language topics as the key to explaining the alphabet. Letters areimagesof language: They were invented, around 2000 B.C., to show tiny sounds of speech. Letters, when combined correctly, re-create the sounds of words (whether in English, ancient Greek, Arabic, Russian, etc.). If you take the spoken tongue as your starting point–any language outside of a test tube was spoken long before it began to be written–and you picture an alphabet being fitted to the language, like clothing, amid adjustments, then the history and meaning of the lettersPreface This book attempts a voyage of discovery among the letters of the alphabet. Like islands of an archipelago, the 26 letters will be visited and explored, one at a time. Each island's geography and local lore will be examined briefly, also its relationship to other islands in the navigational stream. Some islands may prove more lush or lofty than others. But any one will yield substantial mental nourishment to visitors, along with glorious vistas onto language, literature, and history of the past 4,000 years. Where do our letters come from? How did they get their shapes, their assigned sounds, their sequence, immortalized in our "Alphabet Song"? Why do we use "Roman" letters for Englishalso for Spanish, Czech, Turkish, Swahili, Vietnamese, and many otherswhile some languages (Russian, Greek, Arabic, Hindi, etc.) use different types of letters? What is a letter, exactly? What's an alphabet? These are among questions to be answered with authority and zest. And smaller questions, perhaps more intriguing. Why is X the unknown? What isThe Story of O? Where did Irish rock band U2 get its name? Why does "mother" start with M? What's Q's source of pride? Which two letters came last to the alphabet? (Answer: J and V.) Why is Z called "zee" in the United States but "zed" in Britain and other Commonwealth countries? Which animal did A originally symbolize? (An ox: the A's legs were horns, pointing upward, 3,000 years ago.) Every letter has its own chapter here. Typically, the chapter briefly explains the letter's origin in ancient Near Eastern alphabets, including the Phoenician alphabet of 1000 B.C. (In this aspect, the book has benefited from a spectacular archaeological discovery made public in A.D. 1999 that placed the alphabet's invention in Egypt, sometime around 2000 B.C.) Each chapter traces its letter's history through ancient Greece and Rome, medieval England, and subsequent stages, and discusses the letter's noteworthy roles in literature, traditional iconography, modern marketing and pop culture, and other categories. V for Victory. Presidential "Dubya" (W). Xbox,X-Files, X-Men. Each chapter tries, where possible, to find the letter's single chief significance for modern readersits "personality," as expressed through speech or visual media. For instance, letter A means quality. B is forever second best. C is inconsistent in sound: Its troubles with commitment stem from an unstable childhood. O's shape can be highly inviting. S is the letter of the serpent, whether for evil or for nature. N needs your nose for pronunciation. And H, phonetically, barely qualifies as a letter at all. Beyond the letters themselves, this book is partly about languages: English first of all, but also Latin, Greek, ancient Semitic tongues (of which Hebrew is the closest modern equivalent), medieval and modern French and other Romance tongues, and German, all relevant to the story of our 26 letters. While I don't speak every one of those languages, I have background in a few and have strived for accuracy in research. The book uses language topics as the key to explaining the alphabet. Letters areimagesof language: They were invented, around 2000 B.C., to show tiny sounds of speech. Letters, when combined correctly, re-create the sounds of words (whether in English, ancient Greek, Arabic, Russian, etc.). If you take the spoken tongue as your starting pointany language outside of a test tube was spoken long before it began to be writtenand you picture an alphabet being fitted to the language, like clothing, amid adjustments, then the history and meaning of the lettersLetters 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 not only accessible and entertaining, but essential to the appreciation of our own language.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 not only accessible and entertaining, but essential to the appreciation of our own language.“At a time when it has become more important than ever to read clearly and intelligently in order to dismantle the daily traps of propaganda, this delightful book lays bare for us, with wit and wisdom, the very building-blocks of our culture: the mysterious letters of the alphabet that rule our language and thought.” —Alberto Manguel, author ofA History of Reading “Reading David Sacks’s wonderful [book]is like sitting rapt before the coolest teacher in school. Sacks’s excursion through the alphabet is witty and smart. I was reluctant to finally leave the classroom.” —Mark Dunn, author ofElla Minnow Pea “[This book] is distinguished by its remarkably long and broad view of the topic and its omnivorous sense of fun. … [A] clear and appealing discussion. … [A] dazzlingly diverse array of facts. … From discussions of the letter A’s role in meat grading, bond rating, student ranking, and punishment for adultery to Z’s exotic associations with Zorro, Sacks makes the history of the alphabet a joy to read. Recommended for most libraries.” —Library Journal(US) “An always clever -- but rarely too clever -- educational and entertaining history of the alphabet. A refreshing combination of erudition and breeziness.” —Kirkus Reviews “Sacks unfolds the romance and magic of the English alphabet. Although Sacks writes for non-specialists, he distills an impressive range of scholarship into his examination of the alphabet’s complex cultural history. This is a delightfully entertaining and engrossing tale of how the score of roman letters that arrived in England in the seventh century eventually gave us everything from the poetry of William Shakespeare to the official grades used by meat inspectors to evaluate chicken.” —Booklist “As fun to read as it is enlightening...Sacks's obsession with language is contagious, and I can imagine few readers whose lives would not be enriched by what he calls his ‘voyage of discovery.’” —Julie Walton Shaver,The New York Times Book Review “Sacks is at his best when he opens a world, and the worlds within worlds that shape-shift as written language moves...[The book] is a valuable addition (edition?) for anyone who wants to know how Anglophones got from there to here.” —The Globe and Mail ‘Beautifully illustrated…[A] gem of popular linguistic history…[The book] avoids taking itself too seriously.” —Publishers Weekly “[A] cultural history of A to Z. [The book]unravels the mystery of the alphabet’s ancient origins, and explores its effects on the modern world.” —Citizen’s Weekly “Sacks writes in a jokey, conversational style…anthropomorphiz[ing] the letters to make their ‘biographies’ even more exciting.” —Winnipeg Free Press “A delightful exploration of the roots, stalks and branches of the letter forms that proved to be so remarkably adaptable to so many diverse, unrelated languages.” —The Edmonton Journal “Sacks does an excellent job tracing each letter’s history…Well-researched and very readable.” —Quill and Quire “[A] delightful journey into the history of our alphabet…With a breezy tone and a passion for letters, Sacks tells the life story of all 26 of them — from A, the ‘first and best,&"At a time when it has become more important than ever to read clearly and intelligently in order to dismantle the daily traps of propaganda, this delightful book lays bare for us, with wit and wisdom, the very building-blocks of our culture: the mysterious letters of the alphabet that rule our language and thought." Alberto Manguel, author ofA History of Reading "Reading David Sacks's wonderful [book]is like sitting rapt before the coolest teacher in school. Sacks's excursion through the alphabet is witty and smart. I was reluctant to finally leave the classroom." Mark Dunn, author ofElla Minnow Pea "[This book] is distinguished by its remarkably long and broad view of the topic and its omnivorous sense of fun. ... [A] clear and appealing discussion. ... [A] dazzlingly diverse array of facts. ... From discussions of the letter A's role in meat grading, bond rating, student ranking, and punishment for adultery to Z's exotic associations with Zorro, Sacks makes the history of the alphabet a joy to read. Recommended for most libraries." Library Journal(US) "An always clever -- but rarely too clever -- educational and entertaining history of the alphabet. A refreshing combination of erudition and breeziness." Kirkus Reviews "Sacks unfolds the romance and magic of the English alphabet. Although Sacks writes for non-specialists, he distills an impressive range of scholarship into his examination of the alphabet's complex cultural history. This is a delightfully entertaining and engrossing tale of how the score of roman letters that arrived in England in the seventh century eventually gave us everything from the poetry of William Shakespeare to the official grades used by meat inspectors to evaluate chicken." Booklist "As fun to read as it is enlightening...Sacks's obsession with language is contagious, and I can imagine few readers whose lives would not be enriched by what he calls his 'voyage of discovery.'" Julie Walton Shaver,The New York Times Book Review "Sacks is at his best when he opens a world, and the worlds within worlds that shape-shift as written language moves...[The book] is a valuable addition (edition?) for anyone who wants to know how Anglophones got from there to here." The Globe and Mail 'Beautifully illustrated...[A] gem of popular linguistic history...[The book] avoids taking itself too seriously." Publishers Weekly "[A] cultural history of A to Z. [The book]unravels the mystery of the alphabet's ancient origins, and explores its effects on the modern world." Citizen's Weekly "Sacks writes in a jokey, conversational style...anthropomorphiz[ing] the letters to make their 'biographies' even more exciting." Winnipeg Free Press "A delightful exploration of the roots, stalks and branches of the letter forms that proved to be so remarkably adaptable to so many diverse, unrelated languages." The Edmonton Journal "Sacks does an excellent job tracing each letter's history...Well-researched and very readable." Quill and Quire "[A] delightful journey into the history of our alphabet...With a breezy tone and a passion for letters, Sacks tells the life story of all 26 of them from A, the 'first and best,&
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