{"product_id":"the-writing-revolution-9781405154062","title":"The Writing Revolution","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn a world of rapid technological advancements, it can be easy to forget that writing is the \u003ci\u003eoriginal\u003c\/i\u003e Information Technology, created to transcend the limitations of human memory and to defy time and space. \u003ci\u003eThe Writing Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e picks apart the development of this communication tool to show how it has conquered the world.  \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eExplores how writing has liberated the world, making possible everything from complex bureaucracy, literature, and science, to instruction manuals and love letters\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eDraws on an engaging range of examples, from the first cuneiform clay tablet, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Japanese syllabaries, to the printing press and the text messaging\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eWeaves together ideas from a number of fields, including history, cultural studies and archaeology, as well as linguistics and literature, to create an interdisciplinary volume\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eTraces the origins of each of the world's major written traditions, along with their applications, adaptations, \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Anyone interested in the development of writing, even without a background in linguistics, will find the book accessible, while linguists will appreciate the well chosen technical information that is included in the description of each individual system.\" (Language Documentation \u0026amp; Conservation, 2 December 2009)  \u003cp\u003e\"This informative, yet accessible and entertaining, book will be of interest to readers with an interest in the history and evolution of world languages, as well as to students and instructors looking for a comprehensive and enjoyable overview of the subject..\" (\u003ci\u003eLanguage in Society\u003c\/i\u003e, 14 December 2009)“Gnanadesikan writes about language’s evolution into modernity with the rise of technology and the World Wide Web and how writing has made possible everything from complex bureaucracy to love letters.” (\u003ci\u003ePrinceton Alumni Weekly Online\u003c\/i\u003e, February 2009)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eList of Illustrations vii  \u003cp\u003ePreface xi\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 The First IT Revolution 1\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 Cuneiform: Forgotten Legacy of a Forgotten People 13\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 Egyptian Hieroglyphs and the Quest for Eternity 33\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 Chinese: A Love of Paperwork 56\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 Maya Glyphs: Calendars of Kings 79\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 Linear B: The Clerks of Agamemnon 95\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 Japanese: Three Scripts are Better than One 113\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 Cherokee: Sequoyah Reverse-Engineers 133\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 The Semitic Alphabet: Egypt to Manchuria in 3,400 Years 143\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 The Empire of Sanskrit 169\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 King Sejong's One-Man Renaissance 191\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e12 Greek Serendipity 208\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e13 The Age of Latin 229\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14 The Alphabet Meets the Machine 249\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAppendix: Figures A.1–A.7 273\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurther Reading 281\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 297\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"John Wiley and Sons Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49407887704407,"sku":"9781405154062","price":78.26,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781405154062.jpg?v=1730500856","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-writing-revolution-9781405154062","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}