"In How Writing Made Us Human, 3000 BCE to Now, Walter Stephens condenses the massive history of the written word into an accessible, engaging narrative. The history of writing is not merely a record of technical innovations--from hieroglyphics to computers--but something far richer: a chronicle of emotional engagement with written culture whose long arc intimates why the humanities are crucial to society. For five millennia, myths and legends provided fascinating explanations for the origins and uses of writing. These ...
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"In How Writing Made Us Human, 3000 BCE to Now, Walter Stephens condenses the massive history of the written word into an accessible, engaging narrative. The history of writing is not merely a record of technical innovations--from hieroglyphics to computers--but something far richer: a chronicle of emotional engagement with written culture whose long arc intimates why the humanities are crucial to society. For five millennia, myths and legends provided fascinating explanations for the origins and uses of writing. These stories overflowed with enthusiasm about fabled personalities (both human and divine) and their adventures with capturing speech and preserving memory. Stories recounted how and why an ancient Sumerian king, a contemporary of Gilgamesh, invented the cuneiform writing system--or alternatively, how the earliest Mesopotamians learned everything from a hybrid man-fish. For centuries, Jews and Christians debated whether Moses or God first wrote the Ten Commandments. Throughout history, some myths of writing were literary fictions. Plato's tale of Atlantis supposedly emerged from a vast Egyptian archive of world history. Dante's vision of God as one infinite book inspired Borges's fantasy of the cosmos as a limitless library, while the nineteenth century bequeathed Mary Shelley's apocalyptic tale of a world left with innumerable books but only one surviving reader." --
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Add this copy of How Writing Made Us Human, 3000 Bce to Now (Information to cart. $19.24, good condition, Sold by Big River Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Powder Springs, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Add this copy of How Writing Made Us Human, 3000 Bce to Now to cart. $19.73, new condition, Sold by Wize Books Limited rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Davis, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
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New in new dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 576 p. Contains: Illustrations, black & white. Information Cultures. Audience: General/trade. All books Ship NEXT DAY from Wize Books (m-f) excluding holidays, when ordered before 2 PM PST with tracking and guarantee.
Add this copy of How Writing Made Us Human, 3000 Bce to Now to cart. $23.04, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
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Fine. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 576 p. Contains: Illustrations, black & white. Information Cultures. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of How Writing Made Us Human, 3000 Bce to Now (Information to cart. $23.05, very good condition, Sold by BooksRun rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Philadelphia, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Add this copy of How Writing Made Us Human, 3000 Bce to Now to cart. $30.60, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
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New. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 576 p. Contains: Illustrations, black & white. Information Cultures. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of How Writing Made Us Human, 3000 Bce to Now to cart. $30.61, new condition, Sold by booksXpress, ships from Bayonne, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2023 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
