Wordplay

by John Langdon

Finding the out the wordplay -of words backworks.

Genres: Nonfiction, Design, Art, Language, Reference

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2005

Reviews

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book. I only put it down to turn it upside down

[Anoop Pai B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the bible to the ambigram artists as it gives an insight into the mind of John Langdon, the co-creator of ambigrams. For those who donot what ambigrams are, they are those words that look the same when looked at from different angles(for eg, the word SWIMS reads the same when turned upside down).
This book will not teach you, how an ambigram is to be drawn or can be drawn. Instead it only gives an ambigram and the thoughts of the author on that word.
I wish an edition to be released which gave a separate section to the ambigrams, he drew for Dan Brown; the creations which inspired Dan to name his protagonist at Robert LANGDON!

[Amanda E · Rating 4 out of 5]

makes you think and play with words yourself although I wouldn't recommend reading while drinking.

[Trike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this on a whim when it was first published in 1992 because I’d never seen anything like it, and it instantly became one of my all-time favorite books. It’s not just art and design, but also touches on science and philosophy, which gives the book some heft beyond its cool artwork.

Ever since then I regularly bring it out to show someone who is unfamiliar with ambigrams, and I always make sure to have plenty of paper and pencils at the ready because, just as I did upon first encountering this art form, everyone wants to try their hand at it. It is incredibly difficult but tons of fun, and Langdon is a true artist.

Go look at his work: http://www.johnlangdon.net