Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji - Paperback

We are surrounded by emoji. They appear in politics, movies, drug deals, our sex lives, and more. But emoji's impact has never been explored in full. In this rollicking tech and pop culture history, Keith Houston follows emoji from its birth in 1990s Japan, traces its Western explosion in the 2000s, and considers emoji's ever-expanding lexicon. Named for the world's most popular pictogram, Face with Tears of Joy tells the whole story of emoji for the first time.

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Praise for Keith Houston

"[Houston] writes with zest. He's an enthusiast if not an obsessive, with a voracious appetite for details."
-- Bill Marvel, The Dallas Morning News

"Mr. Houston savors evocative style...[His] unapologetic nerdiness is matched by a jaunty style."
-- Henry Hitchings, The Wall Street Journal

"Houston is both witty and intensely detailed."
-- Kirkus Reviews