The Book of Hebrew Script: History, Palaeography, Script Styles, Calligraphy & Design

by Ada Yardeni

Yardeni, a calligrapher who has a PhD in ancient Semitic languages, paleography, and epigraphy, brings her expertise to this comprehensive history of the Hebrew script. The earliest influences toward the Hebrew script, the development of the script, its use during the Middle Ages, the variations found in different areas, and the development of the modern calligraphic script are described. Copious b&w illustrations accompany the text. A final chapter describes how to design inscriptions and typefaces. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Genres: History

355 pages, Hardcover

First published November 24, 2002

Reviews

[Smitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ada Yardeni is clearly an artist, not a historian. The first half of the book details the development of the Hebrew language in its written form from the dawn of writing through the 20th century. While often fascinating and revelatory, it is in this area that she is most out of her element. The history is alternately simplistic and obtuse, is frequently repetitive, and is poorly organized. Additionally, for a book published in the 1990s by an artist, the book design is particularly subpar, with diagrams and illustrations instead of photos, poor print quality, and even poorer citation. It's difficult to match figures with dates and get a full understanding of the sequence of events without rereading the book twice. The second half of the book focuses on drawing Hebrew letters and calligraphy. That's what she's best at, but it makes me wonder if she wouldn't have been better off producing two separate books, as the two halves don't fit together so well.