In this groundbreaking book, Martin Puchner leads us on a remarkable journey through time and around the globe to reveal the powerful role stories and literature have played in creating the world we have today. Puchner introduces us to numerous visionaries as he explores sixteen foundational texts selected from more than four thousand years of world literature—from the Iliad to J. K. Rowling—and reveals how writing has inspired the rise and fall of empires and nations, the spark of philosophical and political ideas, and the birth of religious beliefs. Indeed literature has touched the lives of generations and changed the course of history.
At the heart of this book are works, some long-lost and rediscovered, that have shaped history and civilization: the first written masterpiece, the Epic of Gilgamesh; Ezra's creation of the Hebrew Bible as scripture; the teachings of Buddha, Confucius, Socrates, and Jesus; and the first great novel in world…
