Ancillary reading

[Dick Margulis <margulis -at- fiam -dot- net>]

Among the stack of books my sweetie gave me for Christmas were two by 
John Man, a historian who writes with an engaging style and who keeps 
the story moving along.

_Alpha Beta_ traces the story of the alphabet, beginning with the 
initial invention of the _idea_ of an alphabet, including some 
plausible-sounding speculations by Man about who invented it, under what 
conditions the idea spread most readily, and what makes it such a 
powerful idea. Given that we all work with the alphabet every day, this 
entertaining book may add a layer of richness to your understanding of 
the symbols you're manipulating.

_Gutenberg_ is in a sense a continuation of the same story. I found a 
couple of technical nits to pick, but Man puts Gutenberg in context, 
makes clear what we know about him and don't know about him, and, again, 
takes the time to explain what, exactly, Gutenberg's breakthrough was, 
why it was and is so powerful, and why and how it spread as it did. He 
labels his own speculations (the records are sketchy at best) and tells 
a good story. If you are thoroughly versed in the history of type and 
printing, not to mention European religious wars of the 
mid-millennium--and have kept up with Gutenbergiana, there may not be 
much new for you here; otherwise, it's a good overview of the guy who 
gave all of us our jobs.

Both books are from Wiley and were originally published in England 
(which will be obvious from the punctuation and spelling as soon as you 
look at them).

Enjoy.


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