{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20261010T034321Z-reviewed-full-unique-works","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/0544002342?tag=bookfrontie00-20","asin":"0544002342","authors":["Jonathan Gottschall"],"book_id":"9780544002340","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/the-storytelling-animal-9780544002340","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780544002340.jpg?v=cfc064c886835733","description":"In this delightful and original book, Jonathan Gottschall offers the first unified theory of storytelling. Drawing on neuroscience and evolutionary biology, The Storytelling Animal explores what stories reveal about human nature, how we process information, and think about the world. 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. Gottschall 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. Gottschall tells us what it means to be a storytelling animal and explains how stories can change the world for the better. We know we are master shapers of story. The Storytelling Animal finally reveals how stories shape us. A NYTimes.com Editor's Choice A Los Angeles Times Book Prizes Finalist “A jaunty, insightful new book . . . [that] draws from disparate corners of history and science to celebrate our compulsion to storify everything around us.”—The New York Times","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780544002340","publication_date":"20130423","publisher":"HarperCollins","slug":"the-storytelling-animal","subtitle":"How Stories Make US Human","title":"The Storytelling Animal"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"SCI070060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Animal Behavior","score":0.7665,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"SOC002020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Physical Anthropology","score":0.736,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"SOC026040","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Social Theory","score":0.7325,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"SCI070060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Animal Behavior","score":0.7665,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"SOC002020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Physical Anthropology","score":0.736,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"SOC026040","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Social Theory","score":0.7325,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS054000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Social History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"LIT007000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Books & Reading","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PSY020000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Brain & Behavior","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PSY053000","confidence_band":"high","label":"How We Evolved to Think","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"SCI008000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Biology","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"SCI027000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Evolution","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"SCI034000","confidence_band":"high","label":"History of Science","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"SCI072000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Developmental Biology","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Animal Behavior","score":0.7665,"slug":"animal-behavior"},{"label":"Physical Anthropology","score":0.736,"slug":"physical-anthropology"},{"label":"Social Theory","score":0.7325,"slug":"social-theory"}],"reader_fit":["Readers curious about how stories reveal human nature","Good for readers interested in neuroscience and evolutionary biology"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["David Herman"],"book_id":"9780262533775","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780262533775.jpg?v=3cd0d433a3581708","score":0.7971,"title":"Storytelling and the Sciences of Mind","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780262533775"},{"authors":["Annette Simmons","Basic Books"],"book_id":"9781541673496","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781541673496.jpg?v=24806244bd95e8ab","score":0.7455,"title":"The Story Factor","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781541673496"},{"authors":["DK","D.K. Publishing"],"book_id":"9780593966730","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780593966730.jpg?v=a27fe7a189d81ee8","score":0.7178,"title":"Animal Behavior","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780593966730"},{"authors":["Evan Skolnick"],"book_id":"9780385345828","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780385345828.jpg?v=baf4ec7b63c33956","score":0.708,"title":"Video Game Storytelling","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780385345828"},{"authors":["Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic"],"book_id":"9781119002253","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781119002253.jpg?v=30c9ed40e6089aab","score":0.7066,"title":"Storytelling With Data","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781119002253"},{"authors":["Brian Hare","Vanessa Woods"],"book_id":"9780399590689","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780399590689.jpg?v=47d0239724ee09f9","score":0.7059,"title":"Survival of the Friendliest","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780399590689"},{"authors":["George Bumann","Jon Young"],"book_id":"9781778403316","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781778403316.jpg?v=8c9903a36bae2a38","score":0.7059,"title":"Eavesdropping on Animals","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781778403316"},{"authors":["Rutger Bregman","Erica Moore","Elizabeth Manton"],"book_id":"9780316418522","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780316418522.jpg?v=71db953ee15607dc","score":0.7043,"title":"Humankind","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780316418522"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:science books for adults"],"label":"Science","score":0.1776,"slug":"science"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:science books for adults"],"label":"Adults","score":0.1173,"slug":"adults"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:story"],"label":"Story","score":0.0863,"slug":"story"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:psychology science"],"label":"Psychology","score":0.0328,"slug":"psychology"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:literary criticism"],"label":"Literary","score":0.0312,"slug":"literary"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: Storytelling and human nature, Stories as tools for social problems, Storytelling and human survival.","Themes: Science, Adults, Story.","Reading lane: Animal Behavior and Physical Anthropology."]},"llm_signals":{"confidence":0.94,"pacing":"unknown","reader_fit":["Readers curious about how stories reveal human nature","Readers interested in neuroscience and evolutionary biology"],"themes":["Storytelling and human nature","Stories as tools for social problems","Storytelling and human survival"],"tropes":[]},"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":true,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":0,"goodreads_ratings_count":7145,"goodreads_reviews_count":1045,"quality_score":0.9484}}