{"product_id":"9780718193881-shady-characters","title":"Shady Characters","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAmpersands, Interrobangs and other Typographical Curiosities\u003cbr\u003eWhere does the ampersand get its name from? What does the hashtag have to do with commerce in ancient Rome? This book gives answers to these questions. From the pilcrow to the ampersand, it reflects the changes in written communication through the ages, charting how punctuation has adapted to each new technological innovation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhere does the ampersand get its name from? What does the hashtag have to do with commerce in ancient Rome? Keith Houston gives the answers in this delightfully entertaining book.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the pilcrow ¶ to the ampersand, the entire cast of \u003ci\u003eShady Characters\u003c\/i\u003e reflects the changes in written communication through the ages, charting how punctuation has adapted to each new technological innovation. Together, these shady characters form a rich, entertaining and surprising history of the written word and our ongoing attempts to shape it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Engaging typographical journeys . Houston brings to life a history of ingenuity and imagination' \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e'Entertaining, informative, a must-read. If ever a  book deserved its hardbacked, reverse-embossed, lavishly  illustrated,  thick white heavy paper incarnation, and a place on an  actual  bookshelf, it is \u003ci\u003eShady Characters'\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e'Houston brings considerable wit to the 5,000-year-old enigma of how we attempt to communicate our thoughts through visible signs\u003ci\u003e . Shady Characters\u003c\/i\u003e might make you look at books - in print or online - in an entirely new way' \u003ci\u003eNature\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e'Refreshing . the stories he uncovers along the way are fascinating' \u003ci\u003eTelegraph\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003eVentures into the previously untrodden history of punctuation marks . scholarly, highly readable' \u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eKeith  Houston is the founder of ShadyCharacters.co.uk, where he writes about  the unusual stories behind some well-known - and some rather more  outlandish - marks of punctuation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":30339972235361,"sku":"9780718193881","price":10.91,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_32398287.jpg?v=1737227929","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780718193881-shady-characters","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}