Alphabetical: How Every Letter Tells a Story

Michael Rosen

4 Reviews

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Language: history & general works, Writing systems, alphabets, Prose: non-fiction, General & world history, History: earliest times to present day

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John Murray
- Paperback Jul 8, 2014 | 9781848548886 | RRP $24.99 Buy Now
- Audiobook Nov 28, 2013 | 9781444791150 | RRP $30.99 Buy Now
- e-Book Nov 7, 2013 | 9781848548879 | RRP $12.99 Buy Now
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Imprint

John Murray
- Paperback Jul 8, 2014 | 9781848548886 | RRP $24.99 Buy Now
- Audiobook Nov 28, 2013 | 9781444791150 | RRP $30.99 Buy Now
- e-Book Nov 7, 2013 | 9781848548879 | RRP $12.99 Buy Now
Play Sample
0:00
Imprint

John Murray
- Paperback Jul 8, 2014 | 9781848548886 | RRP $24.99 Buy Now
- Audiobook Nov 28, 2013 | 9781444791150 | RRP $30.99 Buy Now
- e-Book Nov 7, 2013 | 9781848548879 | RRP $12.99 Buy Now
Play Sample
0:00

From Alphabets to Zipcodes, the surprising story of our 26 letters from million-selling author and Radio 4 language expert, Michael Rosen.

From minding your Ps and Qs to wondering why X should mark the spot, Alphabetical is a book for everyone who loves words and language. Whether it's how letters are arranged on keyboards or Viking runes, textspeak or zip codes, this book will change the way you think about letters for ever.

How on Earth did we fix upon our twenty-six letters, what do they really mean, and how did we come to write them down in the first place? Michael Rosen takes you on an unforgettable adventure through the history of the alphabet in twenty-six vivid chapters, fizzing with personal anecdotes and fascinating facts. Starting with the mysterious Phoenicians and how sounds first came to be written down, he races on to show how nonsense poems work, pins down the strange story of OK, traces our seven lost letters and tackles the tyranny of spelling, among many, many other things.

His heroes of the alphabet range from Edward Lear to Phyllis Pearsall (the inventor of the A-Z), and from the two scribes of Beowulf to rappers. Each chapter takes on a different subject - codes, umlauts or the writing of dictionaries. Rosen's enthusiasm for letters positively leaps off the page, whether it's the story of his life told through the typewriters he's owned or a chapter on jokes written in a string of gags and word games.

So if you ever wondered why Hawaiian only has a thirteen-letter alphabet or how exactly to write down the sound of a wild raspberry, read on . . .

Praise for Alphabetical: How Every Letter Tells a Story

Enjoyable history of the alphabet - The Times
Substantial and engaging - Guardian
Forget party crackers - when you settle down to the turkey and trimmings this year simply make sure you have this book to hand. There's even a chapter devoted to family friendly alphabet games: perfect for playing after the Queen's been on. That letters can and should be fun, not just functional, is one of the main messages of this book - Sunday Telegraph
The perfect book for anyone who relishes the intricacies of language and letters . . . [Rosen] reveals a gift for seamlessly meshing hard information, personal anecdote, jokes and puzzles with educational, cultural and linguistic questions and wry, pointed, observations . . . There are delights in this book for all ages - Australian

Michael Rosen

Michael Rosen is a former Children's Laureate and the bestselling author of We're Going on a Bear Hunt (which won the Smarties Best Book of the Year Award) and many other books. He has also presented Word of Mouth on BBC Radio 4 since 1998. He has a Phd in Education, been awarded five extra honorary doctorates by various universities and made Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Literature) by the French government. In 2013 he became Professor of Education Studies at Goldsmiths. Find out more on Michael's website: www.michaelrosen.co.uk