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OverviewFrom the earliest scratches on stone and bone to the languages of computers and the Internet, this book offers an investigation into the origin and development of writing throughout the world. Commencing with the first stages of information storage - knot records, pebble counters, tally sticks, and pictographic storytelling - the book then focuses on the emergence of complete writing systems in Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BC, and their diffusion to Egypt, the Indus Valley and points east, with special attention given to Semitic writing systems and their eventual spread to the Indian subcontinent. Also documented is the rise of Phoenician and its effect on the Greek alphabet, generating the many alphabetic scripts of the West. Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese writing systems and scripts are dealt with in depth, as is writing in pre_colombian America. Also explored are Western Europe's medieval manuscripts and the history of printing, leading to the innovations in technology and spelling rules of the 19th and 20th centuries. Illustrated with numerous examples, this book offers a global overview in a form that everyone can follow. The author reveals his own discoveries made since the early 1980s, making it a useful reference for both students and specialists as well as the general reader. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Stephen Roger Fischer , Steven Roger FischerPublisher: Reaktion Books Imprint: Reaktion Books Dimensions: Width: 14.50cm , Height: 3.00cm , Length: 23.50cm Weight: 0.605kg ISBN: 9781861891013ISBN 10: 1861891016 Pages: 280 Publication Date: 01 September 2001 Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , General , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Out of Print Availability: Awaiting stock  Table of ContentsReviews[It] is wonderful . . . to see a subject that embraces so much of human civilisation handled with the wide knowledge and breadth of vision it deserves. --Nature [It] is wonderful . . . to see a subject that embraces so much of human civilisation handled with the wide knowledge and breadth of vision it deserves. -- Nature If you're intrigued by writing's past, Fischer's book is well worth a read. . . . brilliant. --New Scientist -- New Scientist Author InformationSteven Roger Fischer is Director of the Institute of Polynesian Languages and Literatures in Auckland, New Zealand. He is the author of Glyph-breaker (1997). A History of Writing is part of Fischer's trilogy for Reaktion, which also includes A History of Language and A History of Reading. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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