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The storytelling animal how stories make us human

Humans live in landscapes of make-believe. We spin fantasies. We devour novels, films, and plays. Even sporting events and criminal trials unfold as narratives. Yet the world of story has long remained an undiscovered and unmapped country. It's easy to say that humans are "wired" for story, but why?...

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Main Author: Gottschall, Jonathan
Format: Books Print Book
Language:English
Published: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, c2012.
Subjects:
Storytelling.
Literature and science.
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Summary:Humans live in landscapes of make-believe. We spin fantasies. We devour novels, films, and plays. Even sporting events and criminal trials unfold as narratives. Yet the world of story has long remained an undiscovered and unmapped country. It's easy to say that humans are "wired" for story, but why? In this delightful and original book, Jonathan Gottschall offers the first unified theory of storytelling. He argues that stories help us navigate life's complex social problems just as flight simulators prepare pilots for difficult situations. Storytelling has evolved, like other behaviors, to ensure our survival.
Physical Description:xvii, 248 p. : ill. ; 22 cm.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references (p. [215]-230) and index.
ISBN:9780547391403
0547391404
Author Notes:Jonathan Gottschall teaches English at Washington & Jefferson College and is one of the leading figures in the movement toward a more scientific humanities. The author or editor of five scholarly books, Gottschall's work has been prominently featured in the New York Times Magazine , Scientific American , and the Chronicle of Higher Education , among others. Steven Pinker has called him a brilliant young scholar" whose writing is "unfailingly clear, witty, and exciting.""

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