Without writing there would be no history and no civilization as we know it. But how, when and where did writing evolve? Are we now moving towards a ‘universal language’ of signs and symbols?
In a succinct, absorbing and well-illustrated text, Andrew Robinson discusses the history of decipherment and then each of the major writing systems in turn, from cuneiform and Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphs to alphabets and the scripts of China and Japan. A provocative chapter on undeciphered scripts challenges the reader: can these codes be broken?
An invaluable guide to the world’s major writing systems, The Story of Writing is a book to read for both pleasure and enlightenment.

ISBN 0500281564