The greatest invention : a history of the world in nine mysterious scripts Cover Image

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The greatest invention : a history of the world in nine mysterious scripts / Silvia Ferrara ; translated from the Italian by Todd Portnowitz.

Ferrara, Silvia, (author.). Portnowitz, Todd, 1986- (translator.).

Summary:

"Silvia Ferrara leads a code cracking mission to decipher the hidden truths and histories of our greatest invention--the art of writing"-- Provided by publisher.

Ferrara takes a profound look at how-- and how many times-- human beings have managed to produce the miracle of written language around the world. Readers will examine the enigmas of undeciphered scripts; study the turtle shells and ox scapulae that bear the earliest Chinese inscriptions, and venture to the cutting edge as high-powered laser scanners bring tears to an engineer's eyes. Ferrara chronicles a journey filled with past flashes of brilliance, present-day scientific research, and a faint glimpse of writing's future. -- adapted from jacket

Record details

ISBN: 9780374601621
ISBN: 0374601623
Physical Description: viii, 289 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.
Edition: First American edition.
Publisher: New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022.
Copyright: ©2022

Content descriptions

General Note:	"Originally published in Italian in 2019 ... as La grande invenzione ... English translation published in the United States by Farrar, Straus and Giroux First American edition 2022" -- verso.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-289).
Formatted Contents Note:	Behind the scenes. Stories ; Nature -- Undeciphered scripts. Islands. Crete ; Cyprus ; Easter Island -- Invented scripts. Cities ; Before the Pharaohs ; Between two rivers ; Chinese turtles ; Across the ocean ; End of story -- Experiments. Tradition ; Solitary inventors ; Isolated branches ; Social inventors -- Discoveries. Where to begin ; How to decipher -- The great vision. First ; Afterward ; Tomorrow ; Postscriptum.