{"product_id":"the-seven-basic-plots-why-we-tell-stories-20th-anniversary-edition-9781399415927","title":"The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories - 20th Anniversary Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e**20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION**\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis remarkable and monumental book at last provides a comprehensive answer to the age-old riddle of whether there are only a small number of 'basic stories' in the world. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eUsing a wealth of examples, from ancient myths and folk tales via the plays and novels of great literature to the popular movies and TV soap operas of today, it shows that there are seven archetypal themes which recur throughout every kind of storytelling. But this is only the prelude to an investigation into how and why we are 'programmed' to imagine stories in these ways, and how they relate to the inmost patterns of human psychology. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on a vast array of examples, from Proust to detective stories, from the Marquis de Sade to E.T., Christopher Booker then leads us through the extraordinary changes in the nature of storytelling over the past 200 years, and why so many stories have 'lost the plot' by losing touch with their underlying archetypal purpose. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBooker analyses why evolution has given us the need to tell stories and illustrates how storytelling has provided a uniquely revealing mirror to mankind's psychological development over the past 5000 years. This seminal book opens up in an entirely new way our understanding of the real purpose storytelling plays in our lives, and will be a talking point for years to come.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChristopher Booker was a founding editor of \u003ci\u003ePrivate Eye\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eto which he regularly contributed, \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand also wrote a longstanding column for the \u003ci\u003eSunday Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e. His bestselling books include \u003ci\u003eThe Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e The Real Global Warming Disaster\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e The Great Deception\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Mad Officials\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eScared to Death \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Neophiliacs\u003c\/i\u003e. Booker died in July 2019.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Continuum","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50878070751506,"sku":"9781399415927","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_9286a6e2-5607-4be7-bebd-f1dcb5a4a0a9.jpg?v=1738211882","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-seven-basic-plots-why-we-tell-stories-20th-anniversary-edition-9781399415927","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}