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Alphabetical
- How Every Letter Tells a Story
- Narrated by: Michael Rosen
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
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Publisher's summary
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What listeners say about Alphabetical
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Bee
- 12-31-16
very enjoyable
story and history of the alphabet. where did all those letters come from? now you'll know.
great narrator.
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- Ann
- 12-11-13
Where is PDF?
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Good book but narrator refers to PDF many times and it is not available for this book
What does Michael Rosen bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Pleasant voice
Any additional comments?
Would be MUCH improved by a PDF!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Andy
- 01-05-14
delightfully entertaining
A high energy narration combined with interesting factoids about provenance and usage of letters and words, made for a very entertaining listening experience.
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3 people found this helpful
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- CD
- 12-08-13
An excellent read (Listen) The author really bring
If you could sum up Alphabetical in three words, what would they be?
Funny, Historical, Interesting
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
The History and the evolution of our modern alphabet.
What about Michael Rosen’s performance did you like?
The authors enthusiasm for the subject. You can tell he really loves the history and lore of our modern alphabet and this comes across in his performance.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
When the Author recounted his memories of watching his mother at her typewriter.
Any additional comments?
I learned more than I thought I ever would about our modern alphabet and I had a great time along the way. I will listen to this book again...
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- C. Beaton
- 12-15-13
Not really "Linguistics" but a lot of fun
Linguistics is one of my favorite topics and I have listened to and read many on the topic. I thought this book was going to be a serious study of the history of the alphabet. I was wrong, but more than pleasantly surprised. Each letter of the alphabet is the starting off point for each chapter, but then Michael Rosen takes you on a wonderful trip of language and delight after the serious stuff is over. Michael reads the book in his delightful accent and just has a lot of fun. He is more a comedian and storyteller than an academic - more to his credit. Highly recommend for a fun trip down the alphabet.
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5 people found this helpful
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- precy
- 03-05-23
Real delight
So much information and all presented with erudition and wit. Lots of surprises about things we take for granted in our daily lives.
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- Douglas McClure
- 12-19-13
Enjoyable - and the PDF file is indeed available
"Alphabetical" is a pleasant read/listen, and, unlike many books about linguistics, seems well grounded in actual facts. Author Michael Rosen reads it marvelously in his British-but-not-posh accent. With this book you get an interesting and educational, if not very profound, look at alphabets and other phonetic/linguistic phenomena.
By the way, Rosen tells the reader to consult "the PDF" several times for written examples of alphabets, etc., which he refers to. This file can be found on the Audible.com page for this audiobook, at the end of the Publisher's Summary. Just click where it says "Download the accompanying reference guide."
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6 people found this helpful
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- John S.
- 03-20-14
PDF not essential
Twenty-six entries each starting with a brief overview of a letter of the alphabet (historical background, phonetics, etc.), used as a jumping off point for a digression of a specific linguistic (for lack of a better term) aspect. Some were (at least mildly) interesting, while others (often having to do with the author's own life) weren't. Overall, the book worked to pass time when I needed to fill short periods with background noise. Rosen's reading was okay as author-narrated books go, but I might've preferred to skim the print book I think if I had to go back and decide again.
One point that irritated me more as the book went on was the incredibly U. K. centric focus. I accept that Rosen is English himself, but as most folks for whom English is their primary language are NOT British, the short shrift he gives in passing to that fact seemed a bit ... patronizing - with a "zee"!
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- melissa.weers
- 09-01-14
these are the letter in your alphbat
Where does Alphabetical rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
great book you and your kids should read it. it may make teaching them to read easier there a lot of history to our writing and the letter are a start. if you want to know why a b c is what they are try this book
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