The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.87 (926 Votes) |
| Asin | : | B009FS2NEO |
| Format Type | : | |
| Number of Pages | : | 572 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-03-23 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
We spin fantasies. Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology, Gottschall tells us what it means to be a storytelling animal. National myths can also be terribly dangerous: Hitler's ambitions were partly fueled by a story. It makes us vulnerable to conspiracy theories, advertisements, and narratives about ourselves that are more "truthy" than true. 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. But as Gottschall shows in this remarkable book, stories can also change the world for the better. Yet the world of story has long remained an undiscovered and unmapp
S. Kay Murphy said If you are a writer, please read this book.. I must say I'm genuinely confused by folks who gave this book fewer than four stars. Not sure what they were expecting. As a writer, I came away from the read feeling like a "super-hero," as my friend and fellow author M.L. Welker described it. Writing is an extremely isolating experience fraught with self-doubt and discouragement. Gottschall's book is a reminder that what we do is important; this thought, that as writers we have the opportunity to change the world one story at a time, is inspiring. "Entertaining and edifying but not authoritative" according to Abner Rosenweig. Gottschall presents story as central to human life. We are "Homo Fictus," he says.The first few chapters look at children's play, fiction, and dreams, and conclude that an essential function of story is to prepare us for life's inevitable difficulties by running us through thousands upon thousands of trouble-based scenarios.The next few chapters reveal story's centrality in daily life as meta-social narrative; as personal identity narrative; and, as moral compass; and, Gottschall demonstrates how f. Pop Nonfiction at its Best Jeremy Zornow Fantastic read. This book's tone is informal but it's still informative, kind of like one of Brian Green or Steven Pinker's books, but Gotschall moves from topic to topic quickly enough as to keep things from getting stale (which, in my opinion is what makes the aforementioned authors' books hard to get through sometimes).I devoured this book and loved every second of it. Dude's super insightful, well-researched, and appropriately and enjoyably speculative. He's got a great sense of humor and a kna