Dictionary of Symbols (Norton Paperback)

Found it a great book as you often see symbols you may not know of and this really helps. Worth having on the shelf.

First found this in the library when designing tattoo and had to buy it because it was just so full of knowledge! Great source book!

Most books on symbols confine themselves to higher level abstractions such as "the lion" or "mercury" or the letters of the alphabet. Liungman's achievement is to create a comprehensive taxonomy for symbols that uses the most basic shapes as building blocks to create ascending chains of meaning. As such, it is an original work of scholarship rather than a gazetteer of common symbols. "The Dictionary of Symbols" is a gold mine of information for readers interested in graphic design or the "semiotics," if I may be allowed to use the term, behind supposedly abstract shapes and designs. Did you ever wonder about the significance of the Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen logos or the three diamonds of the Mitsubishi symbol? Would world history have been different if the Nazi swastika had pointed the other way? These and many other questions of similar nature are knowledgeably and enjoyably explored in this very impressive book.

My partner and I are delighted with this book! Referencing and cross-referencing are intuitive per the book's organization — and it's a helluva hefty tome! Norton rarely disappoints.

This dictionary is arranged by symbol, rather than alphabetically, making it fairly easy to puzzle out a symbol you don't know. I owned this years ago and gave it to a friend. As soon as I saw it I bought it again. If you saw a symbol somewhere and did not know what it was, I'd grab this book. I Also use it to spark my imagination. I love looking through the explanation of what each symbol is. from the signs hoboes write on peoples houses, to meterological symbols, to alchemy.

This is a rich sourcebook of information about graphic symbols from around the world. The text is detailed and covers the subject in depth. Several articles at the beginning of the book discuss the various uses of these signs and symbols around the world. The book's key failure, IMHO, is that the author uses an indexing system that is hard to follow. For example, you will found various kinds of crosses scattered through many categories. It is hard to understand exactly what led him to group which symbols where. On a few occasions, you will find symbols grouped with signs that seemingly bear no relationship in either shape or meaning. Use this book for the definitions, but be prepared to wade through a lot of material if you don't happen to know the name of the sign at the start of your research.