Shady characters

In Shady Characters, Keith Houston weaves a fascinating trail through the nooks and crannies of typographical history, from the Library of Alexandria to the halls of Bell Labs. Whether investigating the annotating duo of asterisk (\) and dagger (†); the plucky pilcrow (¶) and humble ampersand (&); or the at sign (@) and octothorpe (\#), both newly reinvigorated by the Internet, Shady Characters will delight all who cherish the unpredictable and surprising in the writing life.