A fascinating book on the origins of writing.

Before Writing gives a new perspective on the evolution of communication. It points out that when writing began in Mesopotamia it was not, as previously thought, a sudden and spontaneous invention. Instead, it was the outgrowth of many thousands of years' worth of experience at manipulating symbols.

In Volume I: From Counting to Cuneiform, Denise Schmandt-Besserat describes how in about 8000 B.C., coinciding with the rise of agriculture, a system of counters, or tokens, appeared in the Near East. These tokens—small, geometrically shaped objects made of clay—represented various units of goods and were used to count and account for them. The token system was a breakthrough in data processing and communication that ultimately led to the invention of writing about 3100 B.C. Through a study of archaeological and epigraphic evidence, Schmandt-Besserat traces how the Sumerian cuneiform script, the first writing system, emerged from a counting device.

In Volume II: A Catalog of Near Eastern Tokens, Schmandt-Besserat presents the primary data on which she bases her theories. These data consist of several thousand tokens, catalogued by country, archaeological site, and token types and subtypes. The information also includes the chronology, stratigraphy, museum ownership, accession or field number, references to previous publications, material, and size of the artifacts. Line drawings and photographs illustrate the various token types.

On July 4, 1777, George Washington was so consumed with where the British would strike that he ignored the nation’s first birthday. One year later, Washington created an independence celebration so spectacular that soldiers proudly recalled it in their old age. As historian Gary Ecelbarger explains in George Washington’s Momentous Year: Twelve Months that Transformed the Revolution, it was between these two antithetical anniversaries where the fight for independence under Washington’s leadership changed from a precarious regional struggle to a global conflict. In August 1777, the British landed at Head of Elk, Maryland, and defeated the Continentals at Brandywine, White Horse Tavern, and Paoli, before occupying Philadelphia. Over the next several months, the forces clashed at Germantown, Red Bank, and White Marsh, and in December, Washington and his troops fell back to Valley Forge. Despite the immediacy of the Philadelphia campaign, Washington remained in charge of the entire Continental effort, and welcomed the American victory at Saratoga that secured an alliance with France. In the new year, British forces were ordered back to New York, and as they set out across New Jersey, a newly invigorated American army engaged them at Monmouth Courthouse. This was Washington’s final time leading troops in battle and ended with his Continentals masters of the field.

In the first of this history’s two volumes, the author narrates the personalities, decisions, and battles of the Philadelphia campaign, primarily from the perspective of Washington. Based on a fresh analysis of primary sources, the author demonstrates that Washington was an offensive-minded commander seeking avenues of attack during a very mobile campaign. Throughout, we follow the growing relationships between the commander in chief and his “military family,” including well-known personalities such as Alexander Hamilton and Marquis De Lafayette, as well as less-heralded volunteers like, Tench Tilghman, Caleb Gibbs, John Cadwalader, and Joseph Reed. During this period, from July to December 1777, Washington had to juggle logistics for his army as well as those far afield, fend off challenges to his leadership, and direct the greater war effort—all the while preparing to engage enemy forces at his front. The result is a new and compelling look at America’s most famous military figure and his truly momentous campaign.