Alphabet background check

NPR has an interesting article up about Michael Rosen's new nonfiction book Alphabetical, which claims to explain the history behind all 26 letters. Rosen is not the world's most convincing interviewee (his responses are heavy on phrases like "Well, I don't know..." and "Perhaps it is...", which I did not find reassuring), but I appreciated the glimpse of the ancient Phoenician alphabet.