Alexander Humez

The Humez brothers’ Alpha to Omega takes the reader on a journey through the standard Greek alphabet in order. Along the way, they investigate all manner of modern etymology, classical Greek mythology and history, interesting tidbits about gardening, and even why glass panes over time become thicker on the bottom than on the top (they are still a liquid).

The Humez brothers do a very good job of keeping the history and politics light(ish) and accessible while still imparting a massive show more amount of information about ancient history, linguistics, and theatrics. The short but eye-opening chapters make for very good bathroom reading.

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"Latina pro Populo" makes use of a goofy quasi-countercultural humour in its writing. However, all of the not-necessarily-funny or even comprehensible jokes aside, the authors chose to use long-winded explanations of Latin grammar, which are ultimately not useful to a person like myself who has not previously studied Latin (though I have studied French for translation; have also learned Italian, German, and Russian, and am currently studying Spanish; both with teachers and show more auto-didactically). Nonetheless, I only speak English fluently and understand that a language is best learned in a country where it is spoken, and of course with Latin such opportunities would be severely limited, unless one lives -IE- in the Vatican. Although I do not have a degree in linguistics, nor am I a linguistic professional, it is my observation that English itself contains a great deal of Latin-based vocabulary; consequently, once one becomes aware of that, that in itself can aid in understanding Latin.

In support of this text, I appreciated the translation exercises, and found that I was able to understand about 25% of the Latin text presented here. Conversely, I can see that for a beginner, this overview of Latin grammar would seem daunting. I read the various excerpts in Latin (the "fabula"), the vocabulary, the verb conjugations--Out Loud--in an effort to get a feel for the sound of the language (at least as I imagine it sounds). In that regard, there was one glaring omission: I could not find any in-depth discussion in this book in regard to how the Latin language is pronounced. The text contains some interesting historical background of the Latin language and its connection to Greek, and to the predecessor of both Greek and Latin, Proto-Indo-European. In the end, I wish this book had made use of a more structured method for learning and practicing Latin; this text works best as an introduction to Latin. Additionally, to its credit, "Latina pro Populo" does suggest additional resources useful for those wishing to continue their Latin studies; as well as synopsis of Latin grammar, and a glossary. show less

I like books about numbers. I like learning about origins of language. And, for the most part, I liked this book. You cannot read this expecting some overlying theme to it all, or even a nice neat conclusions section to wrap everything up. Each chapter is its own entity and is tenuously connected to a single number (zero through thirteen, plus an additional chapter on infinity). However, the narrative is tangential and digresses often into adjacent but not immediately applicable topics. For show more instance, chapter 5 is spent largely discussing the measurement of time. Is it an interesting collection of random information? No doubt. However, it's nothing more than that. It is less a book than a collection of well-informed essays bordering on stream of consciousness. I had hoped for more explanation of common number-themed phrases, but I did not want for neat little facts on math and linguistics. If you're just looking for some light nonfiction, this is a nice diversion. show less

The Humez Brothers claim, and rightly so, that language can tell us about the culture it belongs to. From this book, you can also watch the transformation in the language from Early Latin to Late Latin as words are borrowed from their Etruscan, Germanic, and Gallic neighbors. Each chapter is short, and so this would make for a decent bathroom reader (or you can churn through it a day, like I did).

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