Book
Wonderworks : the 25 most powerful innovations in the history of literature / Angus Fletcher.
"A brilliant examination of literary invention through the ages, from ancient Mesopotamia to Elena Ferrante, showing how writers created technical breakthroughs as sophisticated and significant as any in science, and in the process, engineered enhancements to the human heart and mind"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781982135973 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: xii, 449 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
- Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
- Publisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, 2021.
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Literature > History and criticism. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show All Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cookstown Branch | 809 Fletc | 31681010227874 | NONFIC | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
"A brilliant examination of literary invention through the ages, from ancient Mesopotamia to Elena Ferrante, showing how writers created technical breakthroughs as sophisticated and significant as any in science, and in the process, engineered enhancements to the human heart and mind"-- - Simon and Schuster
This âfascinatingâ (Malcolm Gladwell, New York Times bestselling author of Outliers) examination of literary inventions through the ages, from ancient Mesopotamia to Elena Ferrante, shows how writers have created technical breakthroughsârivaling scientific inventionsâand engineering enhancements to the human heart and mind.
Literature is a technology like any other. And the writers we revereâfrom Homer, Shakespeare, Austen, and othersâeach made a unique technical breakthrough that can be viewed as both a narrative and neuroscientific advancement. Literatureâs 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.
Wonderworks reviews 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 literatureâfrom ancient Chinese lyrics to Shakespeareâs plays, poetry to nursery rhymes and fairy tales, and crime novels to slave narratives.
A ârefreshing and remarkableâ (Jay Parini, author of Borges and Me: An Encounter) exploration of the new literary field of story science, Wonderworks teaches you everything you wish you learned in your English class, and âcontains many instances of critical insight....Whatâs most interesting about this compendium is its understanding of imaginative representation as a technologyâ (The New York Times).
