The Greatest Invention. A History of the World in Nine Mysterious Scripts

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The author takes a 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. This book chronicles a journey filled with past flashes of brilliance, contemporary scientific research, and a faint glimpse of writing's future. -- Adapted from jacket