Signs & Symbols of the World

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.

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.

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.

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.

Very comprehensive resource on symbolism throughout the ages. I was surprised to find a section for just gestures, including body language for person-to-person communication that I've never seen before in a book in this genre. I can't recommend this one enough!

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.

Signs & Symbols of the World was a very interesting read, I learned a thing or two.
Actually, I learned a lot.
This book is loaded with information relating to symbols used by humans. When I finished this book I was surprised at how much I didn’t know about a lot of symbols.
I suppose we just take them for granted.

What’s particularly interesting is that we use symbols so frequently, yet somehow, we forget their origin or even their meaning. It was enlightening to learn the origins of some of the symbols, to understand the true meaning and even the original intent of a symbol. Like how the scarab beetle is not in a flesh eating monster as they are depicted in film. The scarab beetle was once thought of as a symbol of the sun god. Ancient Egyptians noticed they behaved in a similar manner as the sun and were surprised by how they reproduced, it seemed so miraculous it had to have been an intervention from the gods.

As humans, we use symbols to read, to write, to inform, to educate, to warn, to promote and to entertain. We use symbols for armies, for hospitals, for religion and for consumerism. In almost every aspect of any form of communication and most human behaviour, we use symbols. Yet, the meaning behind some symbols is quite surprising. It has been an enlightening read to learn how symbols have been adapted and modified to represent something completely different to its original intent.

There are many aspects of this book that I like. I especially enjoyed the plain language. As I was reading, I was struck with the ease of the descriptions and felt that it would be a great addition to a classroom library. So if you’re a teacher you may want to consider this book. It is educational, informative, interesting and it has lots of symbols (pictures).

This was fascinating, intriguing and tickled my brain from start to end. Who doesn't like looking at different signs, weird pictures, etc? I loved learning more about the different zodiacs, international signs and more. This book has things I didn't even know existed so I think it is a good concise reference for people interested in the subject or people who are just curious.

The author obviously did a lot of research to look for the familiar signs and symbols to the less familiar and unheard of signs. The end result was this book is a complete reference, as mentioned before, but can also full under fascinating useless information/trivia. Hey, maybe this will be a Jeopardy category someday (haha).

I was very amused and intrigued by what I learned from this book. It was an easy read because it was mostly pictures and descriptions of each, so the size of this didn't bother me at all. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this and glad I requested this. I definitely want to get a hard copy to own to share this wisdom with others. Perhaps it can help with the game Pictionary too!

Thanks to Netgalley, DR McElroy and Quarto Publishing-Wellfleet Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 5/5/20

What a gem of a book and quite unusual too. There are hundreds of signs and symbols from such a wide range of historical and modern categories including music, driving, hazardous materials, washing, digital, Celtic, religion, mythology, animals and alchemy (to name but a few). The illustrations are so clear and all sorts of interesting facts and historical information are included. It would be a great resource for so many people and definitely a reference book to keep on your shelf.

This book was one that you can sit down and flip through and learn a lot of interesting things you likely dint know. If you skim read it, you’ll be intrigued by how much there is you have no clue about. When you eventually read this thing cover to cover because it will compel you to do so, you’ll likely feel smarter than ever but talk abt abd see symbols everywhere for the next week at least! Rest find and happy with my head full of symbols and facts!

Thanks to Wellfleet Press for the ARC!

Nice read! It was interesting to learn more about signs and symbols. My favorite pages were the ones regarding our gestures. Lots of new information for me. When I requested this book, I thought I would recognize most of the symbols and would know what they meant. Now, after reading it, I've come to realize that there's much more about them and I had no idea. All my life I've been responding to these signs, but I didn't know why. And also, I was wrong about a few ones. Now things make much more sense.

The design is beautiful, very pleasant for the eyes of the reader.

The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because I wanted it to be a little more complete, maybe. It was so interesting, I wanted to know more about a few subjects and suddenly the author was already changing the topic... But anyway, great introduction for beginners like me.

This was a very interesting book, I love reading non-fiction books like this one because they go into detail about things like signs and symbols that maybe I don't know or haven't heard about before. That's what really caught my attention when requesting this ARC in Netgalley. Signs and Symbols of the World does a very thorough examination on different symbols that are present from religion, to language, technology, etc. I really liked the variety of topics it explained and the easiness of the explanation. Very interesting.

Both enlightening and intriguing, I enjoyed reading this book on signs and symbols of the world. The spectrum is broad and comprehensive, it contains enough detail to ignite curiosity but not too much technicality that makes you want to kill yourself. A great balance of title and content.
I especially loved the chapters on chemistry and medicine; my favorite parts were language, writing and punctuation which are my special interests. I have learnt much of etymology, historical and archeological backgrounds of many symbols. Interesting topics like witchcraft, alchemy and pagan-related symbols were bewitchingly interesting and informative. I found some parts unnecessary though, such as digital, manufacturing and shipping, either known too well by everyone or of no interest to most people. However overall a good quality, well-researched, informative and interesting book that is worth your time.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a well put together and knowledgeable book of signs and symbols from ancient times all the way up to presant times.

Each chapter shows a different set of symbols with basic information for each and information about why and when they were used and by whom.

This is a great book of knowledge for anyone with an interest in ancient times or symbols in general.

Signs & Symbols of the World by D.R. McElray is a colorful and exceptionally informative encyclopedia. For someone who had read a variety of encyclopedias on the subject, there is very little that can surprise me. I have never heard of an angelic symbolism, which was quite peculiar, especially how people create it. Book is perfect as a shelf piece and a page-turner. Displaying this book will in no way hinder the look of the shelf.
The best part of the book? It is difficult to remember everything at once, so the reader has always something to discover when coming back to it. Simply and utterly perfect.

Found this book absolutely riveting and a wealth of knowledge, a true treasure trove of information that was exposed in a concise manner and that covered so much range in between the topics. A great resource to have, especially if you write paranormal stories or have a fascination with paranormal and magic and the occult

I received an Advanced Review Copy of this book from Netgalley. This graphic dictionary would make an excellent gift for a middle school boy that is a visual learner.

RELEASE YOUR INNER NERD!

I did not only read this book, I relished it over the period of a few days.

Signs & Symbols of the World is a fun and very informative book that covers all the relevant bases when it comes to signs in all the cultural, social, and historical aspects. It really gave me an opportunity to nurture my inner nerd, as I delved into the hundreds of different symbols, packed with facts I did not know about.

I was particularly fascinated by the subjects dealing with alchemy, medical, and astrological signs. Although there were a few sections that I was not necessarily interested in (like military or religion), the subjects are covered in such a brief and compelling way that I could find interesting details as I read them.

I would really recommend this for all the random trivia lovers, like myself.