by Umberto Eco
First published 1995
In a world of babel, one man seeks the ultimate tongue. Linguist Umberto Eco embarks on a sweeping historical odyssey, unearthing the hidden stories behind the world's most beguiling languages. From the Tower of Babel to the artificial lingo of Esperanto, he explores mankind's age-old dream of universal communication. But as Eco delves deeper, he discovers that the search for perfection may be as elusive as the perfect word itself.
Genres: language, non-fiction, linguistics, academic
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: quest
Setting: Europe
397 pages · Hardcover, Sewn Binding, Paper Dust Jacket · Wiley-Blackwell