{"product_id":"the-golden-thread-ewan-clayton-9781619024724","title":"The Golden Thread: The Story of Writing","description":"From the simple representative shapes used to record transactions of goods and services in ancient Mesopotamia, to the sophisticated typographical resources available to the twenty-first-century users of desktop computers, the story of writing is the story of human civilization itself. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCalligraphy expert Ewan Clayton traces the history of an invention which--ever since our ancestors made the transition from a nomadic to an agrarian way of life in the eighth century BC--has been the method of codification and dissemination of ideas in every field of human endeavour, and a motor of cultural, scientific and political progress. He explores the social and cultural impact of, among other stages, the invention of the alphabet; the replacement of the papyrus scroll with the codex in the late Roman period; the perfecting of printing using moveable type in the fifteenth century and the ensuing spread of literacy; the industrialization of printing during the Industrial Revolution; the impact of artistic Modernism on the written word in the early twentieth century--and of the digital switchover at the century's close. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Golden Thread\u003c\/i\u003e also raises issues of urgent interest for a society living in an era of unprecedented change to the tools and technologies of written communication. Chief among these is the fundamental question: \"What does it mean to be literate in the early twenty-first century?\" The book belongs on the bookshelves of anyone who is inquisitive not just about the centrality of writing in the history of humanity, but also about its future; it is sure to appeal to lovers of language, books and cultural history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ewan Clayton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1619024721\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781619024724\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Catapult\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/20\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 416\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.80h x 6.00w x 1.30d","brand":"Ewan Clayton","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43984659448063,"sku":"9781619024724","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_49f41e1c-f573-451e-8d1c-42eac0452aab.jpg?v=1683273518","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-golden-thread-ewan-clayton-9781619024724","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}