A history of writing from the earliest picture drawings of early man to the spread of the alphabet by the Phoenicians and ending with a photoessay of calligraphy from Japan to medieval Europe. While an older book it was quite interesting because of the lavish use of photos and drawings. The author doesn't assume that he has the last word on the development of writing and hints that new discoveries may change some of our ideas. I would like to find a good article or short book that does update his information but this book was worth the time I spent because of the illustrations alone.