"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. Includes bibliographical references.
Contents:
Postscriptum. 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.
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.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.