THE STORY OF STORIES

An irresistible journey from the earliest fires to the latest phones, telling the surprising and untold story of storytelling.

From the long-forgotten woman on the edge of the Persian Gulf who authored the first written story, to a teenager in Tennessee who defied social norms to embrace the roots of rock 'n roll, to an accountant trying to save a struggling factory in post-Mao Beijing, to a family in rural Texas whose lives were forever changed by the algorithms of social media, The Story of Stories showcases how ordinary people, ever-improving tools, and the structure of the human mind combine to make storytelling the most powerful force shaping our lives and transforming humanity. The Story of Stories demonstrates that whether they are published to huge audiences or told in intimate conversations, stories affect our understanding of ourselves and our world in particular and measurable ways. It examines how different storytelling tools have altered and amplified these effects, redistributed the power of storytelling from the few to the many, and driven revolutions throughout human history. Drawing on examples from art, literature, music, and pop culture, from the Bible to Bon Jovi and Broadway, Aristotle to Artificial Intelligence, Frederick Douglass to Facebook, and cave paintings to children's picture books, The Story of Stories promises to be a passionate and immensely rewarding exploration of how stories and the tools we use to tell them change us and our world. Kevin Ashton is a technologist, author, and entrepreneur. He coined the term "the Internet of Things," co-founded the Auto-ID Center at MIT, and has led three tech start-ups, including Zensi, which he co-founded and sold to Belkin. His first book How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery (Doubleday, 2015) was named Porchlight's "Business Book of the Year" and sold abroad in 13 countries. His writing about innovation and technology has also appeared in the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Daily Telegraph and Politico.