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A review by sharondblk
SignsSymbols of the World: Over 1,001 Visual Signs Explained by D.R. McElroy
1.0
I received a free e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I try to be nice when reviewing books. Even if they are "not for me" often I can see who a book might be for. This is a book I have nothing nice to say about.
It does talk about signs and symbols, but not in any logical, or systematic way. It just comes across as a fairly arbitrary list of symbols, with very brief, simplistic descriptions. There are a couple of places I noticed the text was just incorrect - like the information about Scottish tartans, and other where it is misleading, like when they brag about the American dollar being the currency of the world, and then say that "Australia and Canada also use the dollar, but they have different values". We could explore why we all call out currency "dollar".
It mixes widely used symbols (like putting the hands up for "surrender") with popular culture (the Vulcan "live long and prosper hand gesture) with no explanation as to the cultural difference. If you know, you don't need this book, and if you don't it will just confuse you more.
Mainly I can't see the point of this book. It's not a reference book and it doesn't explore anything, It just exists.
I try to be nice when reviewing books. Even if they are "not for me" often I can see who a book might be for. This is a book I have nothing nice to say about.
It does talk about signs and symbols, but not in any logical, or systematic way. It just comes across as a fairly arbitrary list of symbols, with very brief, simplistic descriptions. There are a couple of places I noticed the text was just incorrect - like the information about Scottish tartans, and other where it is misleading, like when they brag about the American dollar being the currency of the world, and then say that "Australia and Canada also use the dollar, but they have different values". We could explore why we all call out currency "dollar".
It mixes widely used symbols (like putting the hands up for "surrender") with popular culture (the Vulcan "live long and prosper hand gesture) with no explanation as to the cultural difference. If you know, you don't need this book, and if you don't it will just confuse you more.
Mainly I can't see the point of this book. It's not a reference book and it doesn't explore anything, It just exists.