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Palimpsest: A History of the Written Word
Contributor(s): Battles, Matthew (Author)
ISBN: 0393352927     ISBN-13: 9780393352924
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
OUR PRICE:   $15.26  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: July 2016
Qty:
Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - Historical & Comparative
- Social Science | Media Studies
- Language Arts & Disciplines | Literacy
Dewey: 302.224
Physical Information: 0.7" H x 5.4" W x 8.1" (0.50 lbs) 272 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

Why does writing exist? What does it mean to those who write? Born from the interplay of natural and cultural history, the seemingly magical act of writing has continually expanded our consciousness. Portrayed in mythology as either a gift from heroes or a curse from the gods, it has been used as both an instrument of power and a channel of the divine; a means of social bonding and of individual self-definition. Now, as the revolution once wrought by the printed word gives way to the digital age, many fear that the art of writing, and the nuanced thinking nurtured by writing, are under threat. But writing itself, despite striving for permanence, is always in the midst of growth and transfiguration.

Celebrating the impulse to record, invent, and make one's mark, Matthew Battles reenchants the written word for all those susceptible to the power and beauty of writing in all of its forms.


Contributor Bio(s): Battles, Matthew: - Matthew Battles is the author of Palimpsest and Library: An Unquiet History and a program fellow at the Berkman Center of Harvard University, where he is associate director of metaLAB, a research group exploring the bounds of networked culture.