The Writing Revolution: Cuneiform to the Internet
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In a world of rapid technological advancement, it is easy to forget that writing is the original Information Technology, created to transcend the limitations of human memory and to defy time and space. The Writing Revolution describes how this communication tool has conquered the world, making possible everything from complex bureaucracy, literature, and science, to instruction manuals and love letters. The author deftly describes each of the world’s major written traditions, tracing its origins, the way it captures the language(s) for which it is used, its applications and adaptations, and its cultural impact. From the first cuneiform clay tablet to the World Wide Web – by way of Egyptian hieroglyphs, Japanese syllabaries, and the printing press, among others – this book offers a fascinating insight into the history of one of the world’s greatest inventions.
List of Illustrations1 The First IT Revolution 12 Cuneiform: Forgotten Legacy of a Forgotten People 133 Egyptian Hieroglyphs and the Quest for Eternity 334 Chinese: A Love of Paperwork 565 Maya Glyphs: Calendars of Kings 796 Linear B: The Clerks of Agamemnon 957 Japanese: Three Scripts are Better than One 1138 Cherokee: Sequoyah Reverse-Engineers 1339 The Semitic Alphabet: Egypt to Manchuria in 3,400 Years 14310 The Empire of Sanskrit 16911 King Sejong's One-Man Renaissance 19112 Greek Serendipity 20813 The Age of Latin 22914 The Alphabet Meets the Machine 249 App Figures A1-A7 273 Further Reading 281 Index 297
