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Editorial Reviews
From Scientific American
"Writing is among the greatest inventions in human history, perhaps the greatest invention, since it made history possible." Thus Robinson, literary editor of the (London) Times Higher Education Supplement, introduces his scholarly and fascinating study of alphabets, hieroglyphics and pictograms. He says he is not presenting the full history of writing, focusing instead on "an account of the scripts used in the major civilizations of the ancient world, of the major scripts we use today, and of the underlying principles that unite the two." But a great deal of the history is here, together with more than 350 splendidly helpful (and viewable) illustrations: cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Mayan glyphs, Chinese and Japanese writing, and scripts based on alphabets.
"Writing is among the greatest inventions in human history, perhaps the greatest invention, since it made history possible." Thus Robinson, literary editor of the (London) Times Higher Education Supplement, introduces his scholarly and fascinating study of alphabets, hieroglyphics and pictograms. He says he is not presenting the full history of writing, focusing instead on "an account of the scripts used in the major civilizations of the ancient world, of the major scripts we use today, and of the underlying principles that unite the two." But a great deal of the history is here, together with more than 350 splendidly helpful (and viewable) illustrations: cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Mayan glyphs, Chinese and Japanese writing, and scripts based on alphabets.
Robinson is also interested in the current movement toward increased communication through logograms, or pictographic symbols. Could they be expanded into a universal writing system that would transcend language differences? Robinson thinks not, asserting that whereas logograms can be helpful, "full writing is based on speech." The book is a paperback edition of a hardback published in 1995.
Scientific American
Rich in images...well-informed and assured.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
See all Editorial Reviews
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Inside This Book Citations: This book cites 74 books | 41 books that cite this book Explore: Citations | Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Key Phrases - SIPs: seal script, syllabic signs, full writing, hieroglyphic script, alphabetic letters (more) Key Phrases - CAPs: Old Persian, Rosetta Stone, Ice Age, Easter Island, Indus Valley (more) Browse Sample Pages: Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me! |
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Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
Writing is among the greatest inventions in human history, perhaps the greatest invention, since it made history possible. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
seal script, syllabic signs,
Writing is among the greatest inventions in human history, perhaps the greatest invention, since it made history possible. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
seal script, syllabic signs,