The Storytelling Animal

Book cover of The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human

Book description

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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Why read it?

1 author picked The Storytelling Animal as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Joseph Carroll

Author

This is the first book I always recommend to people wanting to see what literary Darwinism is about. Gottschall has a gift for charming readers, reaching out and speaking to them personally. The book is loaded with condensed research, but all that information is presented in a readily accessible, conversational style. The book is also loaded with fascinating anecdotes—stories. Gottschall makes a compelling case that the human mind naturally craves stories.

From Joseph's list on literary Darwinism.