{"product_id":"wonderworks-literary-invention-and-the-science-of-stories-9781982135980","title":"Wonderworks: Literary Invention and the Science of Stories","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis \"fascinating\" (Malcolm Gladwell, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eOutliers\u003c\/i\u003e) examination of literary inventions through the ages, from ancient Mesopotamia to Elena Ferrante, shows how writers have created technical breakthroughs--rivaling scientific inventions--and engineering enhancements to the human heart and mind.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLiterature is a technology like any other. And the writers we revere--from Homer, Shakespeare, Austen, and others--each made a unique technical breakthrough that can be viewed as both a narrative and neuroscientific advancement. Literature's great invention was to address problems we could not solve: not how to start a fire or build a boat, but how to live and love; how to maintain courage in the face of death; how to account for the fact that we exist at all. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eWonderworks \u003c\/i\u003ereviews the blueprints for twenty-five of the most significant developments in the history of literature. These inventions can be scientifically shown to alleviate grief, trauma, loneliness, anxiety, numbness, depression, pessimism, and ennui, while sparking creativity, courage, love, empathy, hope, joy, and positive change. They can be found throughout literature--from ancient Chinese lyrics to Shakespeare's plays, poetry to nursery rhymes and fairy tales, and crime novels to slave narratives. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA \"refreshing and remarkable\" (Jay Parini, author of \u003ci\u003eBorges and Me: An Encounter\u003c\/i\u003e) exploration of the new literary field of story science, \u003ci\u003eWonderworks \u003c\/i\u003eteaches you everything you wish you learned in your English class, and \"contains many instances of critical insight....What's most interesting about this compendium is its understanding of imaginative representation as a technology\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAngus Fletcher is a professor of story science at Ohio State's Project Narrative, the world's leading academic think-tank for the study of stories. He has dual degrees in neuroscience and literature, received his PhD from Yale, taught Shakespeare at Stanford, and has published two books and dozens of peer-reviewed academic articles on the scientific workings of novels, poetry, film, and theater. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He has done story-consulting for projects for Sony, Disney, the BBC, Amazon, PBS, and Universal and is the author\/presenter of the Audible\/Great Courses Guide to Screenwriting.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50612304871698,"sku":"9781982135980","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6b33a5db-0fd9-4095-945d-759dfdf45096.jpg?v=1732372760","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/wonderworks-literary-invention-and-the-science-of-stories-9781982135980","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}