Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

Following on the heels of the same authors' Latin for People, this is a book about Greek-origin words in English and their social history. With a rich array of examples the Humez brothers convincingly argue that the relationship between words and ideas is a continuous feedback loop, and that importing a concept from some other culture generally means importing the other folks' word for it as well. The hidden agenda of this book is its crash course in Greek culture, from wine to theater (both thanks to the god Dionysos, the Greeks thought) to writing itself. Bite-sized chapters of words starting with a given Greek letter (beta for boustrophedon, for example) allow this book to be read at many sittings, a buffet for intellectual snacking. Warning: the reviewer who once described these authors as "manic digressives" was pretty well on the money. There is a LOT of information in here, not just about Greeks! But the side-excursions are invariably worth the trip.

We have here an interesting and at times a far-reaching exploration of word origins. At times, it is also so far-reaching it seems disconnected from the root. The material whets the appetite but does not go far enough. The authors have a sense of humor but that is not enough to carry the book.