Language Visible by David Sacks tells the story of how our letters came to be. The story of many of them is similar. Start with the Phoenicians, move to the Greeks, an ill-understood stop with the Etruscans, (or is that the other way around?) then the Romans, then Anglo-Saxons with some input from the French. The books is interesting and accessible (reviewers call it "lively" and "engaging") but there is quite a bit of overlap because of the way he chose to tell it--one letter at a time. Because letters are related in development or sound or use there's even more overlap. I think I remember reading that this was based on a column he wrote in a newspaper, and if so, that would explain some of it. The other problem is there are a lot of "sidebars" in the book. They are interesting and I'm glad I read them but they totally interrupted the flow of this fascinating look at letters.I will be forever grateful for the reminder of the yogh. Along with thorn, yogh (I can reproduce neither symbol) was a letter I learned while studying Middle English (an undergraduate graduation requirement) but for the longest time I could only remember thorn. It drove me nuts. Now I know.
Non-fiction: 12.5
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