The greatest invention : a history of the world in nine mysterious scripts /
"Silvia Ferrara leads a code cracking mission to decipher the hidden truths and histories of our greatest invention--the art of writing"--
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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New York :
Farrar, Straus and Giroux,
2022.
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| Edition: | First American edition. |
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| Summary: | "Silvia Ferrara leads a code cracking mission to decipher the hidden truths and histories of our greatest invention--the art of writing"-- 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. |
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| Item Description: | "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. |
| Physical Description: | viii, 289 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-289). |
| ISBN: | 9780374601621 0374601623 |