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Spellbound: The Improbable Story of English Spelling: The True Story of Man's Greatest Invention
 
 

Spellbound: The Improbable Story of English Spelling: The True Story of Man's Greatest Invention [Illustrated] (Hardcover)

by James Essinger (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 254 pages
  • Publisher: Robson Books Ltd; illustrated edition edition (25 May 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 186105906X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1861059062
  • Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 12 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 50,210 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  Books > Reference > Language > Spelling
    #15 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Linguistics > Historical & Comparative Linguistics > Etymology

Product Description

Times Educational Supplement - July 7 2006
Essinger displays not only verve and affection (there are nuggets of linguistic information on every page) but also great scholarship...

Product Description
Following the continued success of a wave of spelling and punctuation titles published in the past eighteen months, James Essinger's 'Spellbound' is an engagingly written, unique and comprehensive account of why the English language is riddled with words that are difficult to spell. Starting with an analysis of the first writing systems, via the origins of English spelling and how this has evolved, the book concludes with the intriguing stories of the development of the spelling of many hard-to-spell words. 'Spellbound' lays bare many fascinating stories of the history of the words we speak every day. It reveals answers to the mystery of why many words are, on the face of it, spelled in such an irrational, chaotic and illogical manner. Explaining why we should care about spelling, the book is an entertaining and practical guide to effective communication, as well as an original historical study of one of the most curious linguistic phenomena in the world.

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Read it!, 1 Jun 2006
By tim (uk) - See all my reviews
Being a complete beginner in the subject of the history of the English language, I found this book quite hardgoing, but it was a fascinating read. I imagine that it would appeal both to novices and to specialists in the field of written languages. James Essinger keeps you interested about subjects that could quite easily be very tiring. His style of writing is both amusing and informative. Even if you're not particularly interested in the subject matter, if you read as much as the preface you'll be hooked. There's enough information in this
small but compressed book to turn any beginner into a reasonable authority on the matter.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, informative and funny!, 4 Aug 2006
By hedonistbuddha (Kent, England) - See all my reviews
Spellbound took me on a magical tour following the twists and turns of all human history, stopping off at the most unlikely places. The journey's purpose is to show the `improbable story' of why English enjoys the most illogical spelling system in the world. And I really do mean `show'. When I read this book it felt more like watching an action-packed technicolor movie with living, breathing people full of hopes and dreams - people who've contributed to how our language is written today... Not something I'd expected from a book about words.

The author obviously has a great passion for our language and an earnest desire to share his great knowledge of it. He succeeds in making what could be very complex concepts accessible, and more to the point, fun and interesting. For example, I never thought I'd ever learn the basics of how Egyptian hieroglyphics, Gothic runes and the Chinese writing system work, but now I do- and it's great fun for showing off at dinner parties!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly informative and entertaining!, 11 May 2007
By Andrew (Cornwall, England) - See all my reviews

In this splendid book, James Essinger tells the fascinating story of the evolution of English Language and spelling.

Over the course of around 250 pages the reader is treated to an educational journey encompassing a variety of topics including early writing forms such as ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, different forms of alphabets (with particular reference to our own), the historical roots of the English language, with emphasis on pivotal events such as the Normandy invasion of 1066, the development of the first dictionaries, and lots more. He even finishes up by discussing modern-day phenomena such as mobile phone text-messaging, which has arguably become a language of its own, barely recognisible from plain written English.

Essinger's writing style is lucid and highly readable. The book contains a wealth of information, without ever becoming dry or tedious. I have no hesitation in awarding it the full five stars.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars good entertaining light reading
I've been fascinated by language & it's development for most of my life & have read quite a few books on the subject over the years

This one is light, easy-going &... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Swan

5.0 out of 5 stars Why English words are so difficult to spell
A book on language is not something I'd normally take to the beach with me. Stumbling upon Spellbound at the airport bookshop I read it on holiday, and was glad of my impulse to... Read more
Published on 16 Feb 2007 by Elke Jeltsje

5.0 out of 5 stars Spellbinding
I found this a fascinating and very enjoyable book. Essinger manages to combine the facts and history of the English language with humour and a tone that makes the subject matter... Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2006 by Stephen

4.0 out of 5 stars Warp and weft
I enjoyed reading this book, though I had previously read several other works on the English Language. Read more
Published on 2 Nov 2006 by Born Again Cruciverbalist

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