Informationen zum Autor Andrew Robinson is the author of twenty-five books in the arts and sciences, nine of them on aspects of Indian history and culture. They include two definitive biographies: Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye , described by V. S. Naipaul as 'an extraordinarily good, detailed and selfless book', and the coauthored Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-Minded Man . He holds degrees from Oxford University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, has been a Visiting Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge, and is currently a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society. Klappentext Writing is one of humanity's greatest inventions.Without it there would be no history and no civilization as we know it. But how, when and where did writing evolve? In a succinct, absorbing and well-illustrated text, Andrew Robinson discusses the history of decipherment and then each of the major writing systems in turn, from cuneiform and Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphs to alphabets and the scripts of China and Japan. An invaluable guide to the world's major writing systems, The Story of Writing is a book to read for both pleasure and enlightenment. Zusammenfassung Writing is one of humanity's greatest inventions. Without it there would be no history and no civilization as we know it. But how, when and where did writing evolve? This book discusses the history of decipherment and major writing systems, from cuneiform and Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphs to alphabets and the scripts of China and Japan. Inhaltsverzeichnis I. How Writing Works 1. Reading the Rosetta Stone . 2. Sound, Symbol and Script . 3. Proto-Writing II. Extinct Writing . 4. Cuneiform . 5. Egyptian Hieroglyphs . 6. Linear B . 7. Mayan Glyphs . 8. Undeciphered Scripts III. Living Writing 9. The First Alphabet . 10. New Alphabets from Old . 11. Chinese Writing . 12. Japanese Writing . 13. From Hieroglyphs to Alphabets - and Back? . Postscript in the New Millennium

Autorentext
Andrew Robinson is the author of twenty-five books in the arts and sciences, nine of them on aspects of Indian history and culture. They include two definitive biographies: Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye, described by V. S. Naipaul as 'an extraordinarily good, detailed and selfless book', and the coauthored Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-Minded Man. He holds degrees from Oxford University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, has been a Visiting Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge, and is currently a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society.

Klappentext

Writing is one of humanity's greatest inventions.Without it there would be no history and no civilization as we know it. But how, when and where did writing evolve? In a succinct, absorbing and well-illustrated text, Andrew Robinson discusses the history of decipherment and then each of the major writing systems in turn, from cuneiform and Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphs to alphabets and the scripts of China and Japan. An invaluable guide to the world's major writing systems, The Story of Writing is a book to read for both pleasure and enlightenment.

Zusammenfassung
Writing is one of humanity's greatest inventions. Without it there would be no history and no civilization as we know it. But how, when and where did writing evolve? This book discusses the history of decipherment and major writing systems, from cuneiform and Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphs to alphabets and the scripts of China and Japan.

Inhalt

I. How Writing Works 1. Reading the Rosetta Stone . 2. Sound, Symbol and Script . 3. Proto-Writing II. Extinct Writing . 4. Cuneiform . 5. Egyptian Hieroglyphs . 6. Linear B . 7. Mayan Glyphs . 8. Undeciphered Scripts III. Living Writing 9. The First Alphabet . 10. New Alphabets from Old . 11. Chinese Writing . 12. Japanese Writing . 13. From Hieroglyphs to Alphabets - and Back? . Postscript in the New Millennium