An Admirable Point: A Brief History of the Exclamation Mark! (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781567927870)

"Splendid exploration"--Wall Street Journal

Few punctuation marks elicit quite as much love or hate as the exclamation mark. It's bubbly and exuberant, an emotional amplifier whose flamboyantly dramatic gesture lets the reader know: here be feelings! Scott Fitzgerald famously stated exclamation marks are like laughing at your own joke; Terry Pratchett had a character say that multiple !!! are a 'sure sign of a diseased mind'. So what's the deal with ! ?

Whether you think it's over-used, or enthusiastically sprinkle your writing with it, ! is inescapable. An Admirable Point recuperates the exclamation mark from its much maligned place at the bottom of the punctuation hierarchy. It explores how ! came about in the first place some six hundred years ago, and uncovers the many ways in which ! has left its mark on art, literature, (pop) culture, and just about any sphere of human activity--from Beowulf to spam emails, ee cummings to neuroscience.

Author: Florence Hazrat
ISBN-10: 1567927874
ISBN-13: 9781567927870
Publisher: David R. Godine Publisher
Language: English
Published: 03/28/2023
Pages: 176
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.20w x 0.70d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2023
Publishers Weekly 01/23/2023
Booklist 03/01/2023 pg. 8