{"product_id":"9781620402153","title":"The History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eThe History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Anne Trubek\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe future of handwriting is anything but certain. Its history, however, shows how much it has affected culture and civilization for millennia.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the digital age of instant communication, handwriting is less necessary than ever before, and indeed fewer and fewer schoolchildren are being taught how to write in cursive. Signatures--far from John Hancock’s elegant model--have become scrawls. In her recent and widely discussed and debated essays, Anne Trubek argues that the decline and even elimination of handwriting from daily life does not signal a decline in civilization, but rather the next stage in the evolution of communication.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow, in \u003ci\u003eThe History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting\u003c\/i\u003e, Trubek uncovers the long and significant impact handwriting has had on culture and humanity--from the first recorded handwriting on the clay tablets of the Sumerians some four thousand years ago and the invention of the alphabet as we know it, to the rising value of handwritten manuscripts today. Each innovation over the millennia has threatened existing standards and entrenched interests: Indeed, in ancient Athens, Socrates and his followers decried the very use of handwriting, claiming memory would be destroyed; while Gutenberg’s printing press ultimately overturned the livelihood of the monks who created books in the pre-printing era. And yet new methods of writing and communication have always appeared. Establishing a novel link between our deep past and emerging future, Anne Trubek offers a colorful lens through which to view our shared social experience.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“As Anne Trubek makes clear in this slim but eloquent volume, handwriting has always been about more than simply words on paper . . . Trubek's book is thoroughly engaging and filled with odd, even moving facts.” -  \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A compelling and entertaining history of humanity's relationship to the physical act of writing . . . extremely readable.” -  \u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Ms. Trubek unearths some captivating sidelights in the history of handwriting.\"\u003ci\u003e - Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Anne Trubek covers a great deal of interesting ground in \u003ci\u003eThe History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting\u003c\/i\u003e . . . Trubek's history of handwriting is a story of metamorphosis, not of decline.” -  \u003ci\u003eInside Higher Ed\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Well-researched . . . [Trubek] persuasively argues that our fixation with writing by hand is driven more by emotion than evidence, as it is perceived to be inextricably linked to our history, core values and individual identities.\" - \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A succinct overview of written communication . . . Trubek believes that change offers opportunities 'in accessibility, in democratization . . . that should be celebrated.' Quirky facts enliven a brisk story of the history of handwriting.” -  \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Thoroughly enjoyable. . . delightful history [ending] with the conclusion that handwriting will not vanish but perhaps, like letterpress printing, become a fine art.” -  \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“[Trubek] considers the political and social implications inherent in who learned to write, what they recorded and the scripts they used . . . Trubek never loses sight of the fact that handwriting is a controversial subject today. Throughout her history, she offers amusing and insightful comparisons between past and present, preparing the reader for a final discussion of the future of handwriting. The result is a light-handed and thoughtful account of a complicated subject.” -  \u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ms. Trubek is a bewitching and witty travel partner.” -  \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal on A SKEPTIC'S GUIDE TO WRITERS' HOUSES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A slim, clever bit of literary criticism masquerading as smart travel writing.” -  \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune on A SKEPTIC'S GUIDE TO WRITERS' HOUSES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A blazingly intelligent romp, full of humor and hard-won wisdom . . . [Trubek] crisscrosses the country in search of epiphanies on the doorsteps of some of our more important writers.” - \u003ci\u003e Minneapolis Star-Tribune on A SKEPTIC'S GUIDE TO WRITERS' HOUSES\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLong-listed Barnes \u0026amp; Noble Discover Great New Writers (2017)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781620402153\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Bloomsbury USA","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":40596625621198,"sku":"9781620402153","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_42cf95bc-cc18-4807-adea-70a689bd87d2.jpg?v=1637863091","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781620402153","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}