{"product_id":"shady-characters","title":"Shady Characters","description":"\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","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57318862520702,"sku":"NW9780718193881","price":13.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9780718193881.jpg?v=1778698432","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/en-eu\/products\/shady-characters","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}