The Book of Lost Languages

Harbour is the real thing – a theoretical linguist fluent in more languages than you can shake a wedge-shaped reed at. But The Book of Lost Languages is accessibly done, its focus as much on the lives of the decipherers who have come before him – their travels and spats and eccentricities – as it is on the technicalities of early Chinese or Anatolian hieroglyphs. At heart, it is a book about writing – and what it is about this extraordinary global invention that is essentially human. Right now that feels like a very welcome thing -- Dennis Duncan * SPECTATOR *
Engrossing . . . There is magic in this book. As Harbour himself notes, "to decipher a script" from some distant era, "is to converse with people from those times, their writers, readers and inventors." One of decipherment's great contemporary figures himself, Harbour is an authoritative guide to this beguiling subject. A playful book, loaded with puzzles for the reader, it's the perfect passport into lost worlds * UNSEEN HISTORIES *
Daniel Harbour has done a masterful job at bringing decipherment to life. Rich in historical anecdote, with clear linguistic exposition– and entertaining puzzles – he brilliantly conveys the thrill of connecting with the ancient world. Harbour is an immensely knowledgeable guide and he has written a playful, deeply-researched book full of fascinating detail that will delight lovers of languages and ancient scripts -- ALEX BELLOS, author of The Language Lover's Puzzle Book
Plato said that writing was dangerous, linguists call it irrelevant, Harbour shows that it is brilliant and strange . . . The pace never lets up as the scripts keep coming, with new solutions still arriving as the book is being written. And Harbour doesn’t just tell us about decipherment, he teaches us how to do it ourselves, with ingenious puzzles that pull us into the story he is telling -- JOSEPHINE QUINN, author of How the World Made the West
There is so much more to decipherment than meets the eye of the uninitiated. It’s a gripping science that draws on a dizzying number of disciplines. Its heroes – those who gave our ancient ancestors their voices back – are more like superheroes, with the powers of tenacity, wisdom and encyclopaedic knowledge. You really have to suspend disbelief to take it all in. Daniel Harbour does an outstanding job of opening up this world with – as he describes one of his protagonists – ‘one eye for enchantment, the other for exactitude’. It’s an impossible book to put down -- YOTAM OTTOLENGHI
A compelling and authoritative global code-cracking adventure, with tales of historical decipherment so thrilling they set the pulse racing -- EDWARD BROOKE-HITCHING, author of Phantom Atlas
The Book of Lost Languages is a remarkable uncovering of hidden treasures that, once rediscovered, shine in the beautiful light of rediscovery -- IAN McMILLAN, Presenter of The Verb
A riveting biographical history of decipherment, told with exemplary clarity, and combining all the drama of a political thriller, the intrigue of a detective story, and the challenge of a cryptic crossword -- DAVID CRYSTAL, Author of Crystal's Curiosity Cabinet
The Book of Lost Languages is a joy and a gift to lovers of language, history and puzzles. Daniel Harbour makes the intricacies of decipherment readily accessible for newcomers, engrossing them through a relaxed tone of authorial voice, a judicious inclusion and exclusion of details, and practical ‘hands on’ sections throughout. He demonstrates both his considerable talent as a writer (with many pithy phrases and punchy sentences demanding a reread for full delectation) and his immense knowledge of decipherment and adjacent fields -- DANNY BATE, author of Why Q Needs U
Daniel Harbour's The Book of Lost Languages tells the gripping tale of the individuals who pushed back the dawn of history by 3,000 years. These were the brilliant decipherers who groped their way into lost linguistic universes using every clue at their disposal, and what makes their story so palpitating is that luck and timing so often played a part in their breakthroughs. Luck and timing, therefore, may be all that separate today's decipherers from unlocking those universes still closed to us -- LAURA SPINNEY, author of Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global