It is tempting to take the tremendous rate of contemporary linguistic change for granted. What is required, in fact, is a radical reinterpretation of what language is. Steven Roger Fischer begins his book with an examination of the modes of communication used by dolphins, birds and primates as the first contexts in which the concept of "language" might be applied. As he charts the history of language from the times of Homo erectus, Neanderthal humans and Homo sapiens through to the nineteenth century, when the science of linguistics was developed, Fischer analyses the emergence of language as...

Steven Roger Fischer s fascinating book traces the complete story of reading from the time when symbol first became sign through to the electronic texts of the present day. Describing ancient forms of reading and the various modes that were necessary to read different writing systems and scripts, Fischer turns to Asia and the Americas and discusses the forms and developments of completely divergent dimensions of reading.
With the Middle Ages in Europe and the Middle East, innovative re-inventions of reading emerged silent and liturgical reading; the custom of lectors; reading s focus in...

A History of the Pacific Islands traces the human history of nearly one-third of the globe over a fifty-thousand year span. This is history on a grand scale, taking the islands of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia from prehistoric culture to the present day through a skilful interpretation of scholarship in the field. Fischer's familiarity with work in archaeology and anthropology as well as in history enriches the text, making this a book with wide appeal for students and general readers.