Book Log 2009 #18: Alpha Beta by John Man

I picked up this book about the development of the English alphabet from a clearance table a few years ago, as the price was right and I had at least some interest in the subject. But I never quite got around to cracking it open, which in retrospect may have been my subconscious urging caution when it comes to cheap books on subjects of only passing interest.

Which isn't to say this is a bad book, but rather that it may not appeal to someone with only a rudimentary understanding of orthography or linguistics. The attempt is made to explain the development and history of the alphabet in a way that anyone can understand, but it may be that this isn't the sort of topic that lends itself to a discourse that has both a wide appeal and reasonable depth. Anyway, I stuck with it for some time but couldn't quite finish.