"Chinese writing is character based, the one major world script that is neither alphabetic nor syllabic. Through the years, the Chinese written language encountered presumed alphabetic universalism in the form of Morse Code, Braille, stenography, Linotype, punch cards, word processing, and other systems developed with the Latin alphabet in mind. This book is about those encounters -- in particular thousands of Chinese characters versus the typewriter...

News from Germany traces why Germans became interested in international communications around 1900 and how they sought to control it for the next 45 years. They used new communications technologies, like wireless and radio, and they used the central businesses of news supply - news agencies. An astonishing array of German politicians, industrialists, military generals, and journalists became obsessed with news. At home, a news agency helped to start...

Since its invention in approximately 100 BCE China, paper has been a cornerstone of civilization. The invention of paper shaped currency, communication, history, and religion. And yet, perhaps because of its widespread accessibility today, paper is underestimated as an artistic medium. Artist Matthew Shlian has always recognized paper's significance as a medium and message, and as a material for experimentation and understanding. In his hands, engineering,...