Letter Perfect by David Sacks

Letter Perfect by David Sacks

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.

Sacks, David: - David Sacks has won numerous national and international awards for his photographs of Africa, including the grand prize of the National Geographic World in Focus International Photography Awards.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780767911733
ISBN 10	0767911733
Title	Letter Perfect
Author	David Sacks
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Broadway Books (A Division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc)
Year published	2004-08-03
Number of pages	416
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.