SKU: 88745269733

The Story of Stories: The Million-Year History of a Uniquely Human Art

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The Story of Stories: The Million-Year History of a Uniquely Human ArtAn irresistible and enchanting journey through human history from mankind's earliest fires to the latest smart phones that tells the surprising and untold story of storytelling. Joan Didion told us, "We tell ourselves stories in order to live." And yet, the story of stories has never been told until now. MIT technology pioneer Kevin Ashton was at the forefront of the digital revolution that led to the invention of the smartphone, the ultimate

An irresistible and enchanting journey through human history--from mankind's earliest fires to the latest smart phones--that tells the surprising and untold story of storytelling.

Joan Didion told us, "We tell ourselves stories in order to live." And yet, the story of stories has never been told until now. MIT technology pioneer Kevin Ashton was at the forefront of the digital revolution that led to the invention of the smartphone, the ultimate storytelling device. This latest technology in the long arc of human storytelling allows anyone, for the first time in history, to tell stories to everyone. In The Story of Stories, Ashton tells the untold story of storytelling. The result is an eye-opening, compelling journey through the eight great revolutions of storytelling, all of which follow a simple pattern: each major new storytelling tool increases the number of people who can share stories and the number of people with whom those stories can be shared.

Our first night-fires created the earliest audiences for spoken stories. Language did not lead us to stories; stories led us to language. In time, the development of rhyme, song, and other mnemonic devices allowed those spoken stories to be preserved for generations; pictures drawn on cave walls turned preservation into permanence, telling stories we still experience thousands of years later; writing enabled storytellers to spread tales to faraway places; the Chinese invented printing with moveable metal type around 700 CE; the Toltecs independently invented it at about the same time; 750 years later Gutenberg independently invented it again, adding a converted wine press to create the mass production of mass communication. Over time, printing presses increased the number of storytellers and the size of their audiences by many orders of magnitude, a trend which led us to great revolutions, and electric, then electronic, then digital storytelling and all our storytelling tools of today--and tomorrow's.

In this remarkable book, more than twenty-five years in the making, Ashton looks at the development of human storytelling to help us understand where we are in the latest iteration that is the digital era. Drawing on examples from art, literature, music, and pop culture, from the Bible to Bon Jovi, Aristotle to Artificial Intelligence, Frederick Douglass to Facebook, and cave paintings to cinema, The Story of Stories is a passionate and crucial exploration of how stories and the tools we use to tell them continue to change us, cause revolutions, and connect us to each other and give our lives meaning.

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SKU: 88745269733

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Kevin Allen
Dallas, US
★★★★★ 5
Quick and easy
Has lots of topics with a few good bullet points on each. Good for a SPI at a poison center
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Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2024
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Claudio Duarte
Pawtucket, US
★★★★★ 5
Easy to read. Excellent presentation.
Easy to read.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2022
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melvin harrington
Lake Worth, US
★★★★★ 4
Print size
The content is great but for us older folks larger Print would be better.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2025
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MaRee
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 5
Great Industrial Style Shelf - Easy Install and Sturdy Build
Item Package Quantity: 1, Size: 3 Tiers 24 Inch
I'm really happy with this 3-tier industrial pipe shelf bracket! It fits perfectly with my industrial chic/light steampunk decor theme and adds exactly the vintage industrial look I was going for. Installation: Took me about an hour to get it completely mounted, which was totally reasonable. All the necessary hardware was included, and the instructions were straightforward. I mounted it to drywall without any issues. Quality: The build quality feels solid and sturdy - definitely not flimsy like some wall shelves I've tried. It holds weight as expected, and I have confidence it'll support my display items long-term. Functionality: I'm using it to display various decorative items and knick-knacks, and it's perfect for that purpose. The three tiers give me good display space without taking up floor space. Style: The retro industrial pipe design is spot-on if you're going for that aesthetic. It really complements an industrial chic or steampunk theme well. Overall, I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking for functional floating shelves with industrial character. Good value for the quality and style you get.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2025
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Deanna Whitt
New York, US
★★★★★ 5
Great product
Item Package Quantity: 1, Size: 2 Tiers 24 Inch, Item Package Quantity: 1, Size: 2 Tiers 24 Inch
Great item. I love the look, it’s perfect for displaying my collection. I didn’t actually set it up per the instructions, I modified it, but it’s like legos, you can get creative. I only attached the top and they hang. Use better fasteners though, I don’t trust the ones they provide
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Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2026

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