A review by slferg
Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, & Other Typographical Marks by Keith Houston

4.0

Interesting look at the origins of punctuation and the signs - including the paragraph symbol, asterisk, dagger, various hyphens, etc. A look at origins, original usage - what that usage became. The influence of printing on these signs and symbols. Also, a look at efforts to establish new symbols as the interrobang, ironics and sarcastic marks for the elucidation of readers.