The Story of Writing - Softcover

Robinson, Andrew

3.87

333 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0500281564 ISBN 13: 9780500281567

Publisher: Thames and Hudson, 1999

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This book addresses the fascinating subject of writing, how it developed and the different systems employed by different cultures. Including cuneiform, Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphs, early alphabets, runes, Linear B, the scripts of China and Japan, and more besides, Andrew Robinson explores the virtues of these writing systems and their decipherment, or not in some cases. Accompanied by many illustrations of writing on walls, tablets, objects, stones, monuments, papyri, and so on, this book holds a wealth of information not usually found in one publication.

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About the Author:

Dr Andrew Robinson is Honorary University Fellow in Theology at the University of Exeter. He is the author of 'God and the World of Signs: Trinity, Evolution and the Metaphysical Semiotics of C.S. Peirce' and editor of 'Darwinism and Natural Theology: Evolving Perspectives'. In 2011 he was elected to membership of the International Society for Science and Religion in recognition of his work on the application of semiotics to Christian theology. In parallel with his theological work he continues to practice medicine in Newton Abbot, Devon.

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.

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.

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PublisherThames and Hudson
Publication date1999
ISBN 10 0500281564
ISBN 13 9780500281567
BindingPaperback
Edition number1
Number of pages232
Rating
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  333 ratings by Goodreads

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ISBN 10: 0500016658 ISBN 13: 9780500016657
Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 1995
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