Barry B. Powell: Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet (1991)

“What caused the invention of the Greek alphabet? Who did it, and why? The purpose of this challenging book is to inquire systematically into the historical causes that underlay the radical shift from earlier and less efficient writing-systems to the use of alphabetic writing. The author declares his conclusion to be a possibly surprising one–that a single man, perhaps from the island of Euboea, invented the Greek alphabet specifically in order to record the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer.”

Publisher Cambridge University Press, 1991
ISBN 0521371570
280 pages

Review: Mabel L. Lang (Bryn Mawr Classical Review)

PDF (10 MB, updated on 2014-3-8)

Walter J. Ong: Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word (1982–)

This classic work explores the vast differences between oral and literate cultures offering a very clear account of the intellectual, literary and social effects of writing, print and electronic technology.

In the course of his study, Walter J. Ong offers fascinating insights into oral genres across the globe and through time, and examines the rise of abstract philosophical and scientific thinking. He considers the impact of orality-literacy studies not only on literary criticism and theory but on our very understanding of what it is to be a human being, conscious of self and other.

First published in 1982 by Methuen & Co. Ltd
Publisher Routledge, 2002
New Accents series
ISBN 0415281296, 9780415281294
204 pages

Publisher
Google books

PDF (1982/2002, updated on 2014-11-23)

Amalia E. Gnanadesikan: The Writing Revolution: Cuneiform to the Internet (2008)

In a world of rapid technological advancements, it can be easy to forget that writing is the original Information Technology, created to transcend the limitations of human memory and to defy time and space. The Writing Revolution picks apart the development of this communication tool to show how it has conquered the world.

* Explores how writing has liberated the world, making possible everything from complex bureaucracy, literature, and science, to instruction manuals and love letters
* Draws on an engaging range of examples, from the first cuneiform clay tablet, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Japanese syllabaries, to the printing press and the text messaging
* Weaves together ideas from a number of fields, including history, cultural studies and archaeology, as well as linguistics and literature, to create an interdisciplinary volume
* Traces the origins of each of the world’s major written traditions, along with their applications, adaptations, and cultural influences

Publisher Wiley-Blackwell, 2008
ISBN 1405154063, 9781405154062
Length 328 pages

More info (google books)

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