This series of essays derives from an interest in communications, in media and their effect upon human intercourse. Primarily, this concern with the technology of the intellect centers upon the effect of literacy on human culture, especially in 'traditional' or pre-industrial societies. In most of the essays, the effects of literacy are considered from the local level, from the standpoint of the field worker interested in the ways in which written learning is transmitted, in the position of literates in a predominately oral community, in the general uses of literacy under conditions of this kind. One aim is to provide a series of case studies illustrating the uses of literacy in 'traditional' societies where partial literacy has long been established and also the impact of writing, both 'traditional' and 'modern', upon non-literate societies. The impact of writing on northern Ghana is examined, and the role of European writing in the New Guinea movements known as Cargo cults is analyzed. The significance of writing varies widely among the societies discussed. However, even in regions like the western Sudan, the book is an important feature of social life, because it provides a reference point for individual and social behavior. (Author/CK)