Absent Voices

Wisconsin Bookwatch, Sept, 2004

Absent Voices

Rochelle Altman

Oak Knoll Press

310 Delaware St, New Castle, DE 19720

www.oakknoll.com

1584561084 $59.95 1-800-996-2556

Absent Voices: The Story Of Writing Systems In The West by writing systems historian, script designer Rochelle Altman (who also holds a doctorate in Medieval English Literature), is a scholarly survey of the history of the art of writing. Inspecting writing systems in the context of the dictionarny meaning of the "word"--a set or assemblage of things connected or associated so as to form a complex unity--Absent Voices traces the evolution of writing customs, from ancient times to the modern day. Extensively researched, with some black-and-white photographs of ancient script and a wealth of archaelogical research supporting its narrative and suppositions, Absent Voices is a fascinating tour through the ages and human perception.