Research on how the brain implements reading has produced results of remarkable consistency, especially on the functional anatomy of single word reading. We examine the general features of this emerging knowledge and draw attention to the extent to which it converges with results from other methods of reading science in several areas: reading acquisition, reading disability, and the basic cognitive processes of reading. We also add perspectives not otherwise represented in this special issue by pointing to the promise of research in text processing and discussing the research on word reading across writing systems. The word reading network identified in alphabetic research does have a universal basis, but it also shows some accommodation to the writing system.