Origins of the Alphabets

I picked up Origins of the Alphabets by Joseph Naveh at a booksale because it seemed to be the type of thing I would be interested in. I was not disappointed. I love anything to do with archaeology and classical history, so it was a treat for me to read about the origins of alphabetic systems of writing. The author traces the developments of the Phoenecian, Hebrew, Greek, Roman, Aramaic and Arabic alphabets from their common origin to their later stages.

The book is full of great photographs of ancient writing, and is clearly written and easy to read. It appears that it was intended for an introductory college course. Those interested in archaeology or ancient history might get a kick out of this small book; those who are not already interested might find it a bit dry.

4/5 stars