Sex! Conflict! International standards bodies! The story of emoji is far more interesting than it has any right to be. Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji will explore where the world’s newest language came from, how it works, and where it is going. It will not help you master emoji — only a tween could do that, and they will be too busy texting — but it will provide an indispensable guide to the most vibrant part of modern language.
Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji is available for pre-order, to be published in July 2025 by W. W. Norton.
Empire of the Sum: The Rise and Reign of the Pocket Calculator is out now, published by W. W. Norton.
An entertaining, informative story about a technology that defined an era.
To describe a calculator as “a symphony of solenoids and switches” (that would be an early, discarded model of what would become the Casio 14-A, which went on the market in 1975 for $1,347) may not be erotica, but it is good writing — and these days, the latter is rather more rare.
The Book is out now, published by W. W. Norton.
Hundreds of books about books have been published during the past century…I will not claim that this one is the very best of all time. Yet The Book is possibly the best of our time.
Erudite, playful, and illuminating…a splendid, challenging mixture of information and fun.
Shady Characters is out now, published by W. W. Norton and Penguin Books.
Punctuation is not a mere ornament or a curiosity — it is essential, and we need to know about it. Keith Houston’s history is entertaining and readable.
Scholarly, highly readable and, on some deeper level, slightly deranged.