uthor Marc Drogin begins where both creation and destruction had their roots: with that most wonderful gift, the alphabet. He traces the mythic origins of the alphabet in ancient, classical and medieval cultures and relates how letters, words, and numbers had a magical significance in the past. After describing the divine origins of the alphabet, he offers a glimpse of some of the magic and miracles associated with the written word, and goes on to the adventures and vicissitudes of books down through the years.