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Combining expertise in both Chinese history and the history of technology, Mullaney (Stanford Univ.) spent over ten years conducting an extensive, international study to document the global history of modern Chinese information technology with a focus on the Chinese typewriter. As a character-based language employed by the world's largest population, Chinese has long challenged inventors interested in developing a typewriter comparable to devices designed for alphabet-based languages. In preparing this penetrating work, the author consulted more than 50 archives, museums, and private and special collections in nearly 20 countries. The study details the experiments and the failures from the 1840s to the 1950s in advancing a workable Chinese typewriter; a planned sequel will extend the history into the information age of computing. This well-researched book offers excellent historical insights into and convincing interpretation of the writing cultures of non-alphabetic Chinese framed against the backdrop of prevailing alphabet universalism and the technological colonialism that China endured. The book is a fascinating read, and the author identifies archives and sources to aid further inquiry. Appendixes feature biographies of key historical persons and a character glossary, and notes and an exhaustive index complete the volume. The title will undoubtedly benefit East Asian studies and culture-history scholars and technology enthusiasts at all levels.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through professionals/practitioners; general readers.