By far one of the most interesting and original books I have read this year (and maybe last year too). This is the type of book that those people who have a wealth of knowledge on a vast array of topics would love. People who enjoy word puzzles, watch Jeopardy, and enjoy historically accurate films or documentaries: this is for you.

Symbolism is all around us, overwhelmingly so in fact. And, if not already privy to all of the ways symbols, signs, glyphs surround us, I would recommend reading this in sections to prevent an “information overload.” Signs and symbols are often enigmatic, especially once one considers where that symbol came from. Signs and symbols are (in my personal opinion) more difficult than language. Symbols vary based on geographical location, time period, religious roots, and even language. Then take into account that that symbol could have hundreds or thousands of years of history attached to it; a history that could also encompass other geographical locations, cultural practices, religions and more.

What makes this book so fascinating is that it presents all the knowledge to you in a simple and easy to understand format, it is well organized and structured, and it allows for cultural pluralism without the reader even having to know what that is. Excellently crafted and a joy to dive into.

This book contained over 1001 signs and symbols from such categories as: alchemy, music, digital, Celtic, religion, mythology, and sex and gender. The detailed illustrations, interesting facts, and historical background were all very informative.
This is a good resource book and will definitely increase your knowledge of signs and symbols from the past to the present.

Where do I start? I thoroughly enjoyed this book it is filled with amazing insight and knowledge. I read this book twice in the first few days I had it, I learnt a lot about symbols and signs I have seen but never realised their significance. I discovered through this book the full meaning of symbols I thought I knew well but truthfully not so, the breakdown of each helped me to get so much out of this book.
I will definitely recommend it to anyone. Wether or not you already have an interest in these subjects this book offers insight and information that will grab your attention and keep you wanting more.

Signs and Symbols of the World (by D.R. McElroy, out in May, 2020 by Wellfleet Press) is the perfect book to escape the lockdown by getting absorbed in the world of language, culture, mythology, alchemy, astrology and medicine.

As every good source book, Signs and Symbols of the World starts with definitions: the difference between an ideogram vs a pictogram, amulet and emblem. Not only does the book explain the origin of signs and symbols, but it also describes the wider historical context of the time when the symbols were born. The book also dispels some misinformation such as the confusion between the Eye of Ra and the Eye of Horus (in the book the explanation is further supported by a small illustration, which makes it easy to understand the reason for the confusion).

Being extra grateful to the NHS (and many more industries) during lockdown, what’s more current than discussing medical symbolism as an example from the book. The caduceus (on the left) is assumed to be the symbol of the medical profession. However, historically, it was the Rod of Asclepius (on the right) that stood for healing. There are wings on the caduceus because they represent Hermes, the winged messenger to the gods. The Rod of Asclepius, on the other hand, pays homage to the god of healing, Asklepius (written with a ‘k’).

There is so much more to discover in this book, from the rationale behind the representation of our astrological sign, through military designations to the Druid alphabet. And the list goes on; just to give a flavour of this list, consider chapters such as Ancient and Modern Civilisations, Currency, Manufacturing, Music, Sigils and Paganism and even Digital. 255 pages of exciting discovery into the intrinsic world of symbols and signs.

An informative and interesting book full of lovely illustrations and facts.
I learned a lot and I loved it.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Signs and Symbols of the World was a mixed bag for me, so let me start with the things I liked about the book. The organisation of the symbols into topics worked well and allowed for comparison of like with like. The layout was also good, with a nice balance of text and images. Although some areas were US-focused there was generally a good inclusion of a wide range of symbols from different countries and cultures. However, one thing spoilt this book for me, and that was that I noticed an error. In the section on Chinese, Japanese and Korean, it mostly focused on discussing CJK Unified Ideographs. I have no issue with that. My concern is that in the introductory paragraph to the section the author claimed all three languages were ideographic. The main Korean writing system/alphabet, Hangeul, is, in fact, sound-based. Each letter represents a sound, and those sounds are built into syllable blocks, which are then combined to form words. The letters are based on the position of the mouth/tongue when making the sound, but it is not the case that each letter represents a thing or a concept. So this statement about it being an ideographic language was misleading. It did then make me question whether everything else in the book was factually correct.

In conclusion, I am giving this book 3 stars. It was a nicely presented work that covered symbols from a wide range of topics; however, I was left questioning the accuracy of the information presented.

An incredible and aggregative book about signs and symbols! I loved the curiosities, informations and I think it's an awesome book for those who would like to create symbols for a brand or even for writing.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me this free copy in exchange of an honest review.

Super insightful and informative! I learned so much from this book and found it super interesting! I appreciated all of the images and little fun facts that I would have never known about.

All I'm seeing is a bunch of white pages with the odd page of information. I was really looking forward to reading this. Disappointed and frustrated