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| Glyphbreaker | Buy a book...
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| Author(s): | S. T. Rischer |
| Publisher: | Copernicus |
| ISBN: | 0 387 98241 8 |
| Format: | hardback |
| 234pp | |
| Price: | £15.50 |
| Review Date: | 23 May 2000 |
| Review: | A very readable book which details the author's deciphering of the Minoan script of the ancient civilization of Crete spoken 4,000 years ago, and more recently his deciphering of the Easter Island script whose meaning was lost in the 1890s. Although the first pages give the impression of a light novel, the author quickly launches into an engrossing account covering the archaeological discovery of the brilliant palaces in Crete, the discovery nearby of the Phaistos Disk and early attempts at understanding its hieroglyphs. The author then describes his own efforts and final success in deciphering the script. His deciphering of the unusual rongorongo script of the Easter Islands is also readably recounted. The book is strengthened by the author giving the reader the background to the development of language itself, how it diversifies, splits and yet leaves an ancestral trail down the centuries. The author is also careful to explain linguistic terms within the narrative which considerably widens the interest for the reader. |