Writing - Theory and History of the Technology of Civilization - by Barry B Powell Paperback

Book Synopsis

Writing: Theory and History of the Technology of Civilization traces the origins of writing tied to speech from ancient Sumer through the Greek alphabet and beyond.

• Examines the earliest evidence for writing in Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BC, the origins of purely phonographic systems, and the mystery of alphabetic writing
  
• Includes discussions of Ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Mayan writing
  
• Shows how the structures of writing served and do serve social needs and in turn create patterns of social behavior
  
• Clarifies the argument with many illustrations

From the Back Cover

Writing: Theory and History of the Technology of Civilization offers a coherent system of terms and categories for the study of the complex phenomena in the world's writing systems.

Tracing the origins of writing tied to speech from ancient Sumer through the Greek alphabet and beyond, the book examines the earliest evidence for writing in Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BC, the relations of these systems to Egyptian and Chinese writing, the origins of purely phonographic systems, and the mystery of alphabetic writing.

With examples from contemporary and historical writing systems, and many illustrations, Writing shows how the structures of writing served and do serve certain social needs and in turn create deep patterns of social behavior.

Review Quotes

"For anyone interested in language, writing, and their fascinating history across many cultures and centuries of development, this engagingly written, well-illustrated book will provide a very readable mine of information." ("CHOICE, " December 2009)"Powell's concentration on precise names for terms used in discourse clears up some of the confusion common to histories of work on ancient scripts." ("About.com", May 2009)

"A feature ... is the use of the ancient scripts in the text with numerous illustrations to familiarize the reader with the different writing systems. The result is a readable and enlightening study of a complex topic." ("Bryn Mawr Classical Review, " April 2010)

""Writing is stimulating and impressive." (Science, " April 2009")"

About the Author

Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor Emeritus of Classics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has written extensively on ancient Greek literature and the history of writing. His books include Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet (1991), A New Companion to Homer (editor, with Ian Morris) (1997), Writing and the Origins of Greek Literature (2001), and two editions of Homer (second edition, Blackwell, 2007).