Alpha to Omega: The Life & Times of the Greek Alphabet

Rating:
Summary: A fabulous book
Review: The word 'polymath'(one who know a lot about many subjects) is Greek and that is what the Humez bros are considered to be. Learned they are indeed, and so gracious about it too.

You'd think this book was modeled after Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy as the book is composed of one digression after another -- but without ever losing the thread. Very humorous and informative tour, by way of digressions, of not only the Greek language but also of current English words with Greek origins.

Obscure factoids about linguistics, mathematics, dead languages like Phoenician, and Greek myths, history and literature await to delight the reader on every page.

For example, in talking about hydro-, hypo-, hyper, and hygro-, the authors also manage to fill you in on some delightful trivia about the process of making glass --- all in the same paragraph.

In reading this book, you'll be convinced that there is not a single boring letter in the alphabet.

I gave this book to my academically disinclined nephew many years ago, and he was so turned on to learning afterwards that he eventually ended up going to a hard-to-get-in East Coast school. Highly recommended to all but especially to smart young people who are bored to tears by school.

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating review of word origins
Review: This is an excellent introduction not only to the greek alphabet but to the origin and meaning of many english words as well. The authors start each chapter with a letter from the greek alphabet. They then demonstrate how many words from english are derived from those greek words beginning with that letter. It is a fascinating and intriguing foray into the world of word meanings and origins.