Synopses & Reviews
In the tradition of the international bestseller The Universal History of Numbers, John Man has written a wonderfully engaging narrative that could be called the "universal history of letters." It illustrates how our alphabet came to be. How it was influenced by scribes as well as kings, cultures ancient and extant, politics, religion, even mythology. How so many adventures came to accompany its evolution. How truly unique a prize it is.
Alpha Beta weaves its way from mans earliest scratches on bone to the first wedge-shaped marks in Mesopotamian clay, from the Pharaohs hieroglyphics to the Torahs innovative characters, from Homers epics to the lost culture of the Etruscans, all the way to the Internet explosion. What surfaces is an intriguing blend of characters, controversies, and stories, including that of a perplexing picture disk found on Crete, a robbery in the Egyptian desert, the invention of Cyrillicand even a continuing mystery surrounding the missing head of British archeologist William Flinders Petrie. We are ever reminded of the alphabets power. The Romans used it to display their strength, the Greeks to capture their myths, the Israelites to define their god.
Ultimately, Alpha Beta offers an extraordinary rediscovery of the alphabets vital contribution to our sense of identity. For while the Western world of today is divided by languages, it remains largely united by the alphabet. And, as Man makes clear, from pre-alphabetic systems to the recording of human speech, from the oral traditions of our ancestors to the literacy of our children, the deceptive simplicity of "ABC" holds within it a rich, potent, and passionate history.
Review
The alphabet's worldwide diffusion can be compared to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, John Man proposes in his narrative search for "Alphabeticus Originalis."
Sweeping from one ancient culture to another, Man unearths archaeological finds, debates biblical myths and provides scientific evidence to support his theory of the alphabet's germination and development.
Using a highly accessible format sharper than the dull edge of the usual historical text, "Alpha Beta" traces its subject on a historical journey around the Mediterranean. Beginning with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and cuneiform, Man, a historian and travel writer, follows the evolution of letters from one great civilization to another.
Paying his respects to the early development of script in China and an especially practical Korean alphabet, Man drives into Sinai in his four-wheel drive to begin his study of the Israelites.
"What emerges in the Sinai wilderness--or the metaphorical wilderness--is a blueprint for group survival unprecedented in history."
The blueprint, Man explains, was based on monotheism and fixed commandments. And it worked because the laws were written in a simple script that did not require excessive knowledge: an alphabet.
In the Phoenicians, Man finds another people to support his hypothesis.
"These port peoples needed a good writing system if only to keep trade records. ... They were ripe for the alphabet, knowledge of which was slowly filtering outwards from its southern Palestine dispersal centre."
Similarly, the alphabet arrived in Greece "and attached itself to a society at a crucial stage in its evolution--a youngish culture ... with no apparent loyalty to an established writing system."
Quickly moving along the Mediterranean, a "land that must have seemed ripe for the plucking" is encountered. But before discussing the true founders of Rome, Man devotes several pages to the outrageous exploits of Thomas Dempster, a forgotten 17th-century Etruscan scholar and "hooligan."
While some of the details about Dempster are amusing, they provide one of several examples of extraneous material in an otherwise concise and effective approach to such an overwhelming idea.
Moving on to the Etruscan alphabet, Man picks up the pace and explains the possibility of a Phoenician or Greek influence. While many mysteries remain about the Etruscans' origins and their alphabet, their influence on a much better-known people and alphabet is hard to ignore.
Debunking the popular myth of Romulus as Rome's founder, Man points to archaeological research for "an account of Rome's origins that dignifies not the Romans but the Etruscans."
After tracing the expansion of the Roman language, Man reaches his limit with the introduction of Cyrillic and travels at breakneck speed to the present. From one chapter to the next, he goes from the Etruscans to the Soviets.
"Alpha Beta" should appeal to anyone with even a mild interest in ancient civilization and an affinity for language.
(Associated Press, BOOKS September 10, 2001)
"Using a highly accessible format sharper than the dull edge of the usually historical text, Alpha Beta traces its subject on a historical journey around the Mediterranean. Beginning with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and cuneiform, Man, a historian and travel writer, follows the evolution of letters from one great civilization to another.Alpha Beta should appeal to anyone with even a mild interest in ancient civilization and an affinity with language."(Associated Press)
Synopsis
Praise for Alpha Beta
"This book comes at the perfect moment?as we rediscover the importance in early reading of ?cracking the alphabetic code.? The story of how that code came into being is a fascinating one, and Man is the ideal writer to tell it." ?Times Educational Supplement
"A richly absorbing exploration, from B.C. to PCs, of the evolution of the most fundamental ?characters? of our cultural history, the alphabet we so much take for granted. John Man writes with a compellingly restless curiosity and immediacy. The ever surprising, exotically detailed narrative in his informative book makes it as undryly enjoyable as a successful archaelogical dig of one of Alan Moorehead?s colorful histories of African exploration." ?David Grambs, author of The Describer?s Dictionary and The Endangered English Dictionary
"Text that is crisp, taut, and as clear as a bell.... A fascinating story with many a beguiling subplot along the way." ?New Scientist
"Letter perfect?the best histories and mysteries of our ABC?s!" ?Jeff McQuain, author of Never Enough Words and Power Language
About the Author
JOHN MAN is a historian and travel writer with a special interest in Mongolia. His most recent books are Gobi: Tracking the Desert and The Atlas of the Year 1000. He also wrote The Waorani: Jungle Nomads of Ecuador and The Atlas of D-Day. He lives with his wife and family in London.
Table of Contents
Foreword.
Introduction: Of Giants and Genius.
The Trouble with Pictures.
The Bearable Burden of Syllables.
Letters in the Wilderness.
The Search for the Perfect Alphabet.
Into Sinai.
The Land of Purple.
The Selfish Alphabet.
The Great Leap Forward.
Why We Don't Write Etruscan.
The Limits to Growth.
Appendix 1.
Appendix 2.
Bibliography.
Acknowledgements.
Index.