"In total, fifty-eight lavishly illustrated chapters present detailed yet accessible commentaries from a team of leading specialists in the study of writing. Together they explain and clarify the birth, evolution, and dissemination of over thirty key scripts and alphabets and their numerous derivatives. The breadth and scope of material covered, along with the detailed sources of documentation provided, make A History of Writing an essential and exciting new contribution to existing scholarship on this fascinating subject."--BOOK JACKET.