Jonathan Gottschall is a distinguished research fellow in the English Department at Washington & Jefferson College. He is the author of The Storytelling Animal, a New York Times Editor's Choice and finality for the LA Times Book Prize, and The Professor in the Cage, one of the Boston Globe's Best Books of the year. He has written for or been covered in the New York Times, Scientific American, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Millions. Gottschall has also appeared on popular podcasts like Star Talk, The Joe Rogan Experience, and Radiolab. He lives in Pennsylvania.
"[a] thoughtful and entertaining investigation on a critical
question: 'How can we save the world from stories?'... Fresh
insights about the ways we understand reality."--Kirkus
"In this provocative and insightful book, Jonathan Gottschall shows
us why dangerous stories spread so rapidly, and how they lead to
division and distrust. But our storytelling instinct can also be
harnessed for good, and Gottschall draws on a trove of research and
compelling stories to show us how we can stop conspiracies,
bigotry, and misinformation. The Story Paradox couldn't be more
urgent."--Jonah Berger, Wharton Professor and bestselling author of
Contagious
"Jonathan Gottschall has written a gripping and thoughtful book on
a neglected but urgent topic: the dark side of stories. With crisp
prose and an array of fascinating examples, he demonstrates how our
innate ability to spin tales can lead to distortion, dissolution,
and destruction. The Storytelling Paradox is a bracing call to
action to become more empathetic and to deploy narrative as a force
for good."
--Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When,
Drive
"Jonathan Gottschall is not only the deepest thinker about the
powerful role of stories in our lives, but a lively and witty
writer. The Story Paradox offers much insight and many
pleasures."
--Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard
University, and author of How the Mind Works and Rationality.
"This fascinating book explores the dark power of stories, arguing
that they are an essential poison--necessary for human life, but
too often a force for irrationality and cruelty. The Storytelling
Paradox is provocative and original and a delight to read--and
ironically enough, Jonathan Gottschall is a hell of a story teller
himself."--Paul Bloom, Professor of Psychology at University of
Toronto, and author of How Pleasure Works, Against Empathy, and The
Sweet Spot.
"We constantly modify one another's brains, and the surgical tool
we use is storytelling. In this luminous and incisive page-turner,
Jonathan Gottschall takes us deep into the world of stories: what
we tell, how we receive, and why it matters so deeply for our
world."
--David Eagleman, Stanford neuroscientist, author of Livewired
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