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The Story of Stories: The Million-Year History of a Uniquely Human Art
An irresistible and enchanting journey through human history—from mankind’s earliest fires to the latest smart phones—that tells the surprising and untold story of storytelling.
Joan Didion told us, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” And yet, the story of stories has never been told until now. MIT technology pioneer Kevin Ashton was at the forefront of the digital revolution that led to the invention of the smartphone, the ultimate storytelling device. This latest technology in the long arc of human storytelling allows anyone, for the first time in history, to tell stories to everyone. In The Story of Stories, Ashton tells the untold story of storytelling. The result is an eye-opening, compulsive journey through the eight great revolutions of storytelling, all of which follow a simple each major new storytelling tool increases the number of people who can share stories and the number of people with whom those stories can be shared.
Our first night-fires created the earliest audiences for spoken stories. Language did not lead us to stories; stories led us to language. In time, the development of rhyme, song, and other mnemonic devices allowed those spoken stories to be preserved for generations; pictures drawn on cave walls turned preservation into permanence, telling stories we still experience thousands of years later; writing enabled storytellers to spread tales to faraway places; the Chinese invented printing with moveable metal type around 700 CE; the Toltecs independently invented it at about the same time; 750 years later Gutenberg independently invented it again, adding a converted wine press to create the mass production of mass communication. Over time, printing presses increased the number of storytellers and the size of their audiences by many orders of magnitude, a trend which led us to great revolutions, and electric, then electronic, then digital storytelling and all our storytelling tools of today—and tomorrow’s.
In this remarkable book, more than twenty-five years in the making, Ashton looks at the development of human storytelling to help us understand where we are in the latest iteration that is the digital era. Drawing on examples from art, literature, music, and pop culture, from the Bible to Bon Jovi, Aristotle to Artificial Intelligence, Frederick Douglass to Facebook, and cave paintings to cinema, The Story of Stories is a passionate and crucial exploration of how stories and the tools we use to tell them continue to change us, cause revolutions, and connect us to each other and give our lives meaning.
Joan Didion told us, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” And yet, the story of stories has never been told until now. MIT technology pioneer Kevin Ashton was at the forefront of the digital revolution that led to the invention of the smartphone, the ultimate storytelling device. This latest technology in the long arc of human storytelling allows anyone, for the first time in history, to tell stories to everyone. In The Story of Stories, Ashton tells the untold story of storytelling. The result is an eye-opening, compulsive journey through the eight great revolutions of storytelling, all of which follow a simple each major new storytelling tool increases the number of people who can share stories and the number of people with whom those stories can be shared.
Our first night-fires created the earliest audiences for spoken stories. Language did not lead us to stories; stories led us to language. In time, the development of rhyme, song, and other mnemonic devices allowed those spoken stories to be preserved for generations; pictures drawn on cave walls turned preservation into permanence, telling stories we still experience thousands of years later; writing enabled storytellers to spread tales to faraway places; the Chinese invented printing with moveable metal type around 700 CE; the Toltecs independently invented it at about the same time; 750 years later Gutenberg independently invented it again, adding a converted wine press to create the mass production of mass communication. Over time, printing presses increased the number of storytellers and the size of their audiences by many orders of magnitude, a trend which led us to great revolutions, and electric, then electronic, then digital storytelling and all our storytelling tools of today—and tomorrow’s.
In this remarkable book, more than twenty-five years in the making, Ashton looks at the development of human storytelling to help us understand where we are in the latest iteration that is the digital era. Drawing on examples from art, literature, music, and pop culture, from the Bible to Bon Jovi, Aristotle to Artificial Intelligence, Frederick Douglass to Facebook, and cave paintings to cinema, The Story of Stories is a passionate and crucial exploration of how stories and the tools we use to tell them continue to change us, cause revolutions, and connect us to each other and give our lives meaning.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
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July 7, 2026Stumbled across this browsing new releases at the library and decided to give it a shot. If you were to map out my interests and draw a line branching off from each of them, they'd all probably intersect somewhere around "critical literacy studies." It was discovering thinkers like Paulo Freire and bell hooks back in 2020 that motivated me to pursue a Masters of Education, and their ideas remain central to my thinking. Reading this, I figured there might be one or two ideas that could be appropriated for a critical literacy framework, but otherwise I was not expecting much. Imagine my surprise at discovering this is a book *about* critical literacy! Or to be more precise: a book about historical developments in storytelling mediums/technologies that uses critical literacy as its focal point. It's not anything too radical, and it doesn't go as deep as I'd like, but I could definitely see this working as an introduction for somebody with little to no exposure to the subject. Very readable with a lot of fun tangents (though I will admit to spacing out at the lengthy description of how liquid crystal displays get made). Going to keep this in my back pocket as a light introduction should the opportunity arise to recommend it to someone
March 22, 2026
Audiobook! Vibes reminded me of Game of Thrones and “How It’s Made” lol. This book was different than what I expected. I did have to switch to audiobook pretty quick but that’s just bc it was a denser book than I usually like. It was surprisingly interesting! I learned about how paper was made and a lot about Facebook.
July 30, 2026
It's an impressive amount of information and lengthy considering the topic. Very on point considering the author is the creator of the "Internet of Things".
August 1, 2026
What could have been a really interesting book instead is a giant woke-scold and opinions presented as facts, despite no evidence given to back them up. After about 130 pages, I gave up.
May 23, 2026
Woah this book was fucked up. No, I mean, this book was great. But the things it made me ponder and think about… let’s just say made for a very uneasy sleep. What starts as a fun-sounding jaunt down the history of story-telling finishes with an ernest plea for critical thinking at the cost of our extinction. So yeah, a very intense journey with far reaching consequences.
March 23, 2026
Ashton is a capable writer, and there's nothing wrong with this book. But the book's marketing is misleading. Ashton focuses 80% of this book on the technical development and operation of book technologies. The development of clay tablets, the history of paper production, the complicated history of Gutenberg's printing press, etc.
I came to this book wanting to learn about how storytelling has actually evolved over the centuries. Ashton could have covered the emergence of these technologies, how they changed the way we tell stories, and how the stories themselves changed in terms of structure, circulation, audience response, etc. But he stops short of extending his analysis into the actual stories. I don't need to read page after page about the technical minutiae of how an LCD television screen was invented and evolved, or how Facebook created an evolving algorithm driven by corporate greed and lack of conscience. Sections like these read way more like a business/trade book than a book about the nature and history of storytelling.
There's a place for a book like that, but there's less of a market for it than a book about the history of storytelling. I feel like the framing of the book is incredibly misleading. The technological history is fine, but Ashton never directly connects it to the evolution of storytelling.
I came to this book wanting to learn about how storytelling has actually evolved over the centuries. Ashton could have covered the emergence of these technologies, how they changed the way we tell stories, and how the stories themselves changed in terms of structure, circulation, audience response, etc. But he stops short of extending his analysis into the actual stories. I don't need to read page after page about the technical minutiae of how an LCD television screen was invented and evolved, or how Facebook created an evolving algorithm driven by corporate greed and lack of conscience. Sections like these read way more like a business/trade book than a book about the nature and history of storytelling.
There's a place for a book like that, but there's less of a market for it than a book about the history of storytelling. I feel like the framing of the book is incredibly misleading. The technological history is fine, but Ashton never directly connects it to the evolution of storytelling.
July 31, 2026
The Story of Stories promises a million‑year history of storytelling, but it often feels more like a dense history of storytelling technologies. I appreciated the early chapters on why humans tell stories at all—firelight, song, memory, and the idea of stories as an evolutionary tool for making sense of the world and building communities.
As someone who works in communications and digital media, I found the sections on printing, paper, and platforms like Facebook both fascinating and sobering, especially around how control of storytelling tools shapes power and privilege.
That said, the book spends a lot of time on technical minutiae (how paper or LCD screens are made, how algorithms evolved) and less time actually tracing how stories themselves change in structure, circulation, and impact. I kept wishing Ashton would go further in connecting these media revolutions to the kinds of stories we tell now and how they shape our critical literacy. It’s well‑researched, timely, and at its best when it argues that more storytellers and more listeners can shift culture—but it doesn’t fully deliver on the emotional or narrative promise of its title for me.
As someone who works in communications and digital media, I found the sections on printing, paper, and platforms like Facebook both fascinating and sobering, especially around how control of storytelling tools shapes power and privilege.
That said, the book spends a lot of time on technical minutiae (how paper or LCD screens are made, how algorithms evolved) and less time actually tracing how stories themselves change in structure, circulation, and impact. I kept wishing Ashton would go further in connecting these media revolutions to the kinds of stories we tell now and how they shape our critical literacy. It’s well‑researched, timely, and at its best when it argues that more storytellers and more listeners can shift culture—but it doesn’t fully deliver on the emotional or narrative promise of its title for me.
April 17, 2026
I gave up on The Story of Stories with a just a few pages left. The early chapters pulled me in. I appreciated the focus on evolutionary psychology, why humans tell stories, and how storytelling helps us make sense of the world and connect with each other. It felt like the book was building toward something meaningful about shared human experience.
But the second half loses that thread. The focus shifts heavily into contemporary cultural narratives. That may be intentional, but it’s not especially compelling, and it doesn’t meaningfully connect back to storytelling.
More importantly, it stops being engaging as storytelling. For a book about stories, it rarely tells one in a way that feels vivid or human. It leans into commentary instead of connection.
I was hoping for a deeper exploration of how storytelling evolves and reflects something universal across time. The book points in that direction early on, but doesn’t follow through. There are solid ideas here, but it doesn’t deliver on the promise of its premise.
But the second half loses that thread. The focus shifts heavily into contemporary cultural narratives. That may be intentional, but it’s not especially compelling, and it doesn’t meaningfully connect back to storytelling.
More importantly, it stops being engaging as storytelling. For a book about stories, it rarely tells one in a way that feels vivid or human. It leans into commentary instead of connection.
I was hoping for a deeper exploration of how storytelling evolves and reflects something universal across time. The book points in that direction early on, but doesn’t follow through. There are solid ideas here, but it doesn’t deliver on the promise of its premise.
August 29, 2026
Starts out strong with a technology-driven look at how our storytelling tools, from the prehistoric campfire to the printing press, have continually reshaped human culture. However, Ashton eventually loses his way when he deliberately blurs the line between data sharing and actual human narrative. Once smart fridges sending alerts, weather apps, and automated factory builds are framed as "stories," the core term loses its meaning, dragging the middle section down into a tedious history of tech and algorithms.
It gets 3 stars rather than 2, thanks to a sharp concluding section on modern propaganda and the cyclical nature of establishment moral panics, but trying to force everything into a narrative framework leaves the book feeling unfocused and bloated. Worth a look, maybe, but not an essential read. Yuval Noah Harari does it better.
It gets 3 stars rather than 2, thanks to a sharp concluding section on modern propaganda and the cyclical nature of establishment moral panics, but trying to force everything into a narrative framework leaves the book feeling unfocused and bloated. Worth a look, maybe, but not an essential read. Yuval Noah Harari does it better.
April 22, 2026
Didn't think I needed a book about stories, but here we are. Ashton takes you from the campfire through clay tablets through Gutenberg and all the way to the phone in your pocket, and somewhere around the printing press I realized I was having fun. The idea that stuck with me is that every jump in storytelling tech means more people get to tell and more people get to hear. Makes the smartphone feel less like a toy and more like the latest link in a very long chain.
July 21, 2026
I'm skeptical of these big history/big science books, especially when the author is a ...let's see...manager at Proctor & Gamble and an internet entrepreneur. It's readable but the author might as well have self published it, that's the extent to which he has any legitimate expertise in the many areas this book covers (neuroscience, anthropology, evolutionary biology, paleoanthropology, history of technology, etc.).
March 14, 2026
A fun and interesting look at how we live by stories and how stories can make us better and how stories can cause enormous problems when they go off the rails. Highly recommended for all of us who think and worry and have hopes for our world. I hope the author follows up and writes more on these subjects. Enjoy!
May 30, 2026
Ah yes. The jump from drawn pigs on cave walls and vocalization used to communicate to refusal of largely-untested vaccines (many of which have been taken off the market for safety reasons) makes so much sense for this storyline. I guess at this point I should expect any book published post-COVID era will have a political lean inserted somehow, some way, into an otherwise unrelated topic.
June 1, 2026
While there are a lot of interesting details here about human history and the role of storytelling in human society, it was remarkably dry and unengaging for a book ostensibly about the power of storytelling.
July 26, 2026
Wow!
This book is so good!
A little bit of a slow start but ultimately there is so much information packed in here!
Well organized, easy to understand.
And so so important.
I highly recommend!!
This book is so good!
A little bit of a slow start but ultimately there is so much information packed in here!
Well organized, easy to understand.
And so so important.
I highly recommend!!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Ultimately, this is both an explanation and defense of what it means to be human. We need both more than ever.
May 27, 2026
3 1/2 stars!
May 31, 2026
I enjoyed this book. I liked the sections about storytelling being an evolutionary tool for human kind and it's role. There were some thought-provoking insights.
June 17, 2026
Too many political comments. Ruined the flow of the book.
Read
July 9, 2026Storytelling has been a part of human life since the very beginning.
This is a very interesting look at the history of that art and how we got to where we are today.
This is a very interesting look at the history of that art and how we got to where we are today.
Did Not Finish
August 24, 2026Page 85 due at library
April 19, 2026
Fascinante lectura (hecha en audiolibro) de divulgación científica que puede ser un complemento perfecto para El Infinito en un Junco de Irene Vallejo.
July 5, 2026
I liked it - interesting, informative, timely, and entertaining
Ashton starts with our ancestors sitting around a fire to keep warm and keep large carnivores away, and singing (before we had language) as a way to bond.
I expected more anthropological history documenting the connections with our brain and language development. He does that but we quickly learn how controlling the tools of story telling are also how power and privilege is maintained.
As Ashton documents through the ages, the 'conservatives' who control wealth and power, repress the 'liberals' who wish to extend rights and opportunities to all classes, races, religions, genders, etc., by preventing new stories that define the culture and its values.
The Reformation doesn't happen until the Bible is translated into the vernacular and we have the printing press breaking the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. As late as the 1800's, British elites fought providing access to universal education b/c they realized they would lose their status if the masses could read, write, vote, organize unions, and demonstrate.
Ashton loves long lists of examples - it worked for me - and the word saltation.
Interesting history of printing material economics.
We end with of course mass media
[to be resumed]
Ashton starts with our ancestors sitting around a fire to keep warm and keep large carnivores away, and singing (before we had language) as a way to bond.
I expected more anthropological history documenting the connections with our brain and language development. He does that but we quickly learn how controlling the tools of story telling are also how power and privilege is maintained.
As Ashton documents through the ages, the 'conservatives' who control wealth and power, repress the 'liberals' who wish to extend rights and opportunities to all classes, races, religions, genders, etc., by preventing new stories that define the culture and its values.
The Reformation doesn't happen until the Bible is translated into the vernacular and we have the printing press breaking the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. As late as the 1800's, British elites fought providing access to universal education b/c they realized they would lose their status if the masses could read, write, vote, organize unions, and demonstrate.
Ashton loves long lists of examples - it worked for me - and the word saltation.
Interesting history of printing material economics.
We end with of course mass media
[to be resumed]
July 29, 2026
Full transparency: I know the author. He's brilliant but not intimidating. Nice guy. Now on to the review...
I started this book expecting a history of writing and storytelling but I got way more than that. He starts about a million years ago and ends at AI, which is of particular interest to me and just about everyone else these days. That covers a lot of time but it's all connected. I am especially fond of finding out the real stories behind the things that I thought I knew, like where paper comes from. Did you know that at one point they made paper from mummy wrappings? Yeah. That's whole wild story on its own. Interesting!
I enjoy books that make me see things in a different way or take a little more time to think about the who, what, where, why and how. This book does that. I think you'll enjoy it.
I started this book expecting a history of writing and storytelling but I got way more than that. He starts about a million years ago and ends at AI, which is of particular interest to me and just about everyone else these days. That covers a lot of time but it's all connected. I am especially fond of finding out the real stories behind the things that I thought I knew, like where paper comes from. Did you know that at one point they made paper from mummy wrappings? Yeah. That's whole wild story on its own. Interesting!
I enjoy books that make me see things in a different way or take a little more time to think about the who, what, where, why and how. This book does that. I think you'll enjoy it.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews