Why Q Needs U

A history of our letters and how we use them

De: Danny Bate

Narrado por: Danny Bate

'A breathtaking adventure through the alphabet... An absolutely delightful read, filled with jewels of lightly worn scholarship and dazzling insight. I just couldn't recommend it more highly.' Stephen Fry

'An excellent read.' Susie Dent

'You'll never look at a keyboard the same way after reading Danny Bate's fascinating linguistic history.' Sunday Times

Why does 'W' sounds like 'double U'?
What has the letter 'Q' got to do with monkeys?
Why are the 'C's in circus pronounced differently?
What's the point of the second 'N' in the author's first name, 'Danny'?
And why does 'Q' need to be followed by 'U'?

Every letter you're reading right now has a fascinating story to tell, having been on a long linguistic, historical, political and social journey.

In Why Q Needs U, linguistic expert Danny Bate takes readers on a fascinating odyssey through the English alphabet, diving into history, archaeology, politics and linguistics to discover where we get our writing from. Sharing fun facts and revealing the alphabet's hidden mechanisms, he explains where we get our letters from and why the English language uses them so strangely.

Explaining - and defending - the peculiar way English today uses our ancient letters, Bate's witty and entertaining book will help readers spot connections in languages across the world and inspire a newfound sense of wonder for the letters we use every day.

'Charming' The Economist©2025 Danny Bate (P)2025 Bonnier Books UK

Exceptional narration

Wonderful performance from the author. Highly engaging and a delight to listen to. Ten hours went by in a flash. Well worth a listen.

Wonderful and whimsical review of the English language

This book was recommended and didn’t disappoint. It’s a great flow and content of the history of the English alphabet.