TWENTY-SIX FRIENDS <i> by Robert F. Blankholm (Stagecoach Road Press, P.O. Box 33, Ashland, Ore. 97520</i> :<i> $7.95)</i> .

If you are a writer--or, for that matter, a reader--nothing is closer to you than the letters of the alphabet. Hence the title of this charming little volume. Each and every letter of our alphabet is given a tidy two pages. One shows earlier versions of the letter in languages like Greek, Etruscan and Phoenician. The other offers fun facts to know and tell, such as the nugget that O has not changed since the beginning of the alphabet, while U is our newest letter, not coming into general use until the 1600s. Bet you didn’t know that.