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Review
'This is a smart, funny, accessible book that does for typography what Truss's 'Eats, Shoots & Leaves' did for punctuation.' --New York Times
'Accessible, informative and often amusing... Copiously illustrated, it's a painless way to develop an appreciation for the subject.' --Herald
'An unexpectedly engrossing read, this is a book that threatens to make font wonks of all of us' --Independent
'Entertaining feast of fonts for graphic geeks and a humorous insight into the fonts dominating print today.' --Times
'Every so often someone writes a book about an obscure subject and uses it to illuminate the rest of the world... this is one of the best.' --William Leith, Evening Standard
'After being walked through these stories, it's difficult to even look at a cereal packet in the same way again...' --Observer
'Accessible, informative and often amusing... Copiously illustrated, it's a painless way to develop an appreciation for the subject.' --Herald
'An unexpectedly engrossing read, this is a book that threatens to make font wonks of all of us' --Independent
'Entertaining feast of fonts for graphic geeks and a humorous insight into the fonts dominating print today.' --Times
'Every so often someone writes a book about an obscure subject and uses it to illuminate the rest of the world... this is one of the best.' --William Leith, Evening Standard
'After being walked through these stories, it's difficult to even look at a cereal packet in the same way again...' --Observer
Book Description
Non-fiction Christmas bestseller - now a Radio 4 Book of the Week
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
95 of 96 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I read a gushing review of this in the DT and was immediately transported back to the late 1970s (1979 I think) when a uni friend of mine gave me his old (c1977-1978) Letraset catalogue (I think I still have it somewhere). I was rather taken aback and impressed by all the different typefaces and even tried to reproduce by hand some Old English names and signs with a Rotring pen (remember those?). Fast forward a few years and there I am doing my final year project surgically removing the lower line of the 'E' because I had run out of 'F's for 'Figure'. So I thought this book would be the sort of minutiae type anal retentive stuff I enjoy reading - and it is!
It could have been such a boring book just talking about some of the more famous 100,000+ typefaces that exist but it isn't - it's a masterpiece. I can't believe that someone could research and write such an excellent book on something that ostensibly is insignificant, and it is only when you read the book the lightbulb comes on and you think how important typefaces, fonts and printing is in your life. This is even truer with the advent of the digital age, as we can easily compare typefaces and fonts on a PC - which is a lot of fun!
I didn't realise (I suppose I should have) just how much effort goes into designing a typeface and the fonts and in a way this book salutes that with its clever (though perhaps obvious) use of the typefaces all the way through - it must have been a nightmare to proof read.
I now know that the delicious typeface on the London Underground is Johnstone Sans and that one of the designers had some very odd sexual leanings!
Also I did find a couple of potential minor errors in the book and wrote to the author who was kind enough to reply - what a good egg (and we agreed that they were minor!).
If you like this type (b'dum tschh) of thing then I can't recommend this book highly enough - it's a real gem.
It could have been such a boring book just talking about some of the more famous 100,000+ typefaces that exist but it isn't - it's a masterpiece. I can't believe that someone could research and write such an excellent book on something that ostensibly is insignificant, and it is only when you read the book the lightbulb comes on and you think how important typefaces, fonts and printing is in your life. This is even truer with the advent of the digital age, as we can easily compare typefaces and fonts on a PC - which is a lot of fun!
I didn't realise (I suppose I should have) just how much effort goes into designing a typeface and the fonts and in a way this book salutes that with its clever (though perhaps obvious) use of the typefaces all the way through - it must have been a nightmare to proof read.
I now know that the delicious typeface on the London Underground is Johnstone Sans and that one of the designers had some very odd sexual leanings!
Also I did find a couple of potential minor errors in the book and wrote to the author who was kind enough to reply - what a good egg (and we agreed that they were minor!).
If you like this type (b'dum tschh) of thing then I can't recommend this book highly enough - it's a real gem.
91 of 94 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've been a typeface (font) geek all my life. Whenever I watch a movie, look at a book jacket or read a sign, I try to figure out the typeface and consider if it is appropriate or not to its surroundings. As a web developer, typefaces are hugely important to me; they need to convey the right message, be pleasing on the eye and exist in correct proportions on the screen.
Oh how I wish I'd thought of writing this book. Even if you aren't a typographic geek, it is a joy to read. Providing the reader with an insight into the history of typography, this book is beautifully laid out and very easy to read. With breakouts for some of the more interesting typefaces, examples of typeface usage and the impact they have had on society, the author has clearly invested months of painstaking research to provide us with a concise and interesting read.
This is a worthwhile and fascinating read; you'd be surprised just how much typefaces have impacted the world around us and how conveying the right message has as much to do with the style, size and proportion of the typeface used as the message itself.
Oh how I wish I'd thought of writing this book. Even if you aren't a typographic geek, it is a joy to read. Providing the reader with an insight into the history of typography, this book is beautifully laid out and very easy to read. With breakouts for some of the more interesting typefaces, examples of typeface usage and the impact they have had on society, the author has clearly invested months of painstaking research to provide us with a concise and interesting read.
This is a worthwhile and fascinating read; you'd be surprised just how much typefaces have impacted the world around us and how conveying the right message has as much to do with the style, size and proportion of the typeface used as the message itself.
52 of 54 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
As the anarchic cover hints, this isn't a dry history of typopgraphy; the miscellany of stories within build up a picture of font history through a montage of anecdotes. The book uses the lives of typographers, the inspirations for their designs, and the social background to weave a fascinating story.
From the elegant and practical Sabon (first produced for easy typesetting), via the downright criminal Gill Sans (wanted for incest and zoophilia), to the now infamous Comic Sans (wanted for crimes against taste), most of the fonts we use today are touched upon, and a few less well known ones too.
Sadly the fonts we use every day to dress our thoughts often pass unnoticed, and the creators unrewarded - Just my Type lets us know why fonts are so important, and what your choice of font says about the words you have writtten before they have even been read.
There's no neat chronology here, and little to surprise a close student of typography, but as a layperson's introduction to the surprisingly passionate world of typography this book couldn't do better.
From the elegant and practical Sabon (first produced for easy typesetting), via the downright criminal Gill Sans (wanted for incest and zoophilia), to the now infamous Comic Sans (wanted for crimes against taste), most of the fonts we use today are touched upon, and a few less well known ones too.
Sadly the fonts we use every day to dress our thoughts often pass unnoticed, and the creators unrewarded - Just my Type lets us know why fonts are so important, and what your choice of font says about the words you have writtten before they have even been read.
There's no neat chronology here, and little to surprise a close student of typography, but as a layperson's introduction to the surprisingly passionate world of typography this book couldn't do better.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Entertaining read, not just for design geeks
If you didn't think such details as fonts influence your emotions, buying decisions, or ability to absorb information quickly, think again. Read more
Published 11 days ago by A. Hunt
A book about WHAT?
This is a must for anyone interested in the art and science of typography. It is not only comprehensive and informative, but written in an entertaining style that makes it highly... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. David C. Smith
Enjoyable and informative
Author has a good style of writing. Informative and witty. Doesn't preach, just tells it how it is. Lots of images and examples. Recommended.
Published 1 month ago by F. Ward
fascinating read
I have no particular interest in fonts, and it would never have occurred to me to read a book about them. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Brenda
Just my type
Hearing it read as a BBC "Book of the Week" demonstrated that a book about a visual experience successfully provided interest and entertainment even when related over the radio.
Published 3 months ago by RLM
A funny thing happened on the way through customs control
If you enjoy typography at any level, you'll enjoy this, a delightful book to dip into and just pick up the odd chapter and reflect on the Characters! [sorry] behind the fonts. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Chris Yale
Dave
I found this a disappointment: it was not what I expected or wanted. That should not mean that the book is not interesting: however, it failed by and large to excite me. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dave
A terrific book but check the spine before purchasing
There are plenty of books about typefaces. Taschen has a splendid volume, for example. But this book is funny, instructive, well informed, and illuminating in equal measure. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. Stephen Greensted
Good book
A very informative and funny book, no hesitation in recommending it - as long as you have a streak of design nerdiness about you
Published 3 months ago by Neil M. Hartwell
Interesting Fonts
If someone had said "you must read this book it's about fonts" I would have thought they were joking, but this book is so interesting. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. Robert L. Marson
Listmania!
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