A comprehensive reference volume describing all ancient and modern scripts of the world. Scripts are illustrated by texts with full explanation and grammatical analyses, and each discussion has a bibliography leading to more technical literature.

"Without question the most comprehensive work ever published on this subject."--Times Literary Supplement "Recommended for most reference collections."--Library Journal "Divided into thirteen parts from grammatology to printing, it provides succinct and accurate descriptions of all the languages of the biblical world in addition to all others....an unusually informative collection...it will be of great value to those working in Near Eastern and biblical fields and will remain an indispensable tool for scholars and students for many years to come."--Religious Studies Review "A wonderful book....A valuable contribution to the study of writing and one which will be of great practical use."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review "A remarkable reference....This volume is the only comprehensive resource covering every major writing system and the way scripts relate to the languages they represent. It is a resource that belongs in every library's reference section and in the personal library of anyonw with a deep-seated interest in language."--Cryptologia "Ranging from cuneiform to shorthand, from archaic Greek to modern Chinese, from old Persian to Cherokee, this is the only available work in English to cover all of the world's writing systems from ancient times to the present."--Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society "It is difficult to imagine that anything more comprehensive will ever supersede this work."--Andrews University Seminary Studies "Without question the most comprehensive work ever published on this subject."--Times Literary Supplement "Recommended for most reference collections."--Library Journal "Divided into thirteen parts from grammatology to printing, it provides succinct and accurate descriptions of all the languages of the biblical world in addition to all others....an unusually informative collection...it will be of great value to those working in Near Eastern and biblical fields and will remain an indispensable tool for scholars and students for many years to come."--Religious Studies Review "A wonderful book....A valuable contribution to the study of writing and one which will be of great practical use."--Bryn Mawr Classical Review "A remarkable reference....This volume is the only comprehensive resource covering every major writing system and the way scripts relate to the languages they represent. It is a resource that belongs in every library's reference section and in the personal library of anyonw with a deep-seated interest in language."--Cryptologia "Ranging from cuneiform to shorthand, from archaic Greek to modern Chinese, from old Persian to Cherokee, this is the only available work in English to cover all of the world's writing systems from ancient times to the present."--Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society "It is difficult to imagine that anything more comprehensive will ever supersede this work."--Andrews University Seminary Studies " . . . a monumental achievement . . ."--Semiotica "Daniels and Bright have given us a fascinating volume that will earn its place in reference libraries."--Notes on Linguistics "The editors, together with dozens of collaborating specialists, have produced not just a massive but a masterly, monumental, almost encyclopedic book."--General Linguistics

Features: * Covers all scripts officially used throughout the world--as well as their historical antecedents * Clearly explains and demonstrates how writing systems convey meaning * Includes more than eighty articles written by sixty leading scholars from a dozen countries * Articles offer text samples with full explanation, useful bibliographies * No comparable work in English exists

Features: * Covers all scripts officially used throughout the world--as well as their historical antecedents * Clearly explains and demonstrates how writing systems convey meaning * Includes more than eighty articles written by sixty leading scholars from a dozen countries * Articles offer text samples with full explanation, useful bibliographies * No comparable work in English exists