false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173197063m/255931.jpg 255931 1 David Sacks has embarked on a fun, lively, and learned excursion into the alphabet&#8211;and into cultural history&#8211;in<i> Letter Perfect</i>. Clearly explaining the letters as symbols of precise sounds of speech, the book begins with the earliest known alphabetic inscriptions (circa 1800 b.c.), recently discovered by archaeologists in Egypt, and traces the history of our alphabet through the ancient Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans and up through medieval Europe to the present day. But the heart of the book is the twenty-six fact-filled &#8220;biographies&#8221; of letters A through Z, each one identifying the letter&#8217;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 letter X may have a sinister and sexual aura, how B came to signify second best, why the word <i>mother</i> in many languages starts with M. Combining facts both odd and essential, <i>Letter Perfect</i> is cultural history at its most accessible and enjoyable. 248048 3 8 2004 Letter Perfect: The Marvelous History of Our Alphabet From A to Z total:43|5:13|4:17|3:12|2:1| 43 171 88 10 3 0 false false Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Tue Feb 17 20:41:44 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 17 20:42:06 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Feb 18 16:49:40 -0800 2008 Thu May 08 13:46:28 -0700 2008 Letter Perfect: The Marvelous History of Our Alphabet from A to Z, David Sacks traces the history of the alp...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Apr 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 05:02:41 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 18:18:40 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri Feb 20 18:13:54 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 20 18:15:24 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat Jul 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 13 18:11:12 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 16 15:37:34 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Sep 14 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 15 08:08:23 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 15 08:11:54 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Wed Dec 05 21:34:37 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 09 15:23:30 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Mar 06 08:04:34 -0800 2007 Wed Mar 21 09:55:33 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 03 13:13:33 -0700 2007 Sat Jul 28 17:50:40 -0700 2007 0 0 false false Fri Apr 24 14:14:50 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 14:14:50 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Nov 06 17:45:37 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 06 17:45:37 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Nov 03 14:22:26 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 23 06:34:21 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Nov 02 14:42:07 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 02 14:42:07 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Sep 15 07:35:16 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 15 07:35:16 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Sep 13 12:42:04 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 12:42:04 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Sep 08 09:10:55 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 08 09:11:09 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Aug 19 18:03:32 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 18:03:32 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Aug 02 21:38:27 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 22:13:52 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jul 21 13:38:53 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 21 13:38:53 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Aug 30 18:53:11 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 20:48:03 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 18:53:11 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=255931