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The Oldest Story in the World

This book is a brooding, daring, idiosyncratic exploration of the secret strength of storytelling, in which Phil Cousineau addresses the central theme which runs through all of his work, the transportive power of words. Written as a mosaic of meditations, this lyrical book ranges from a twelve-thousand-year-old Aboriginal tale, to a mystical Viking story, a venerable myth from the Seneca, and a modern parable from contemporary world of house painters in San Francisco. Wrapped around the marvels he has collected from around the world are Cousineau's own edgy ruminations, which illuminate the irrepressible impulse for storytelling.

PRAISE FOR THE OLDEST STORY IN THE WORLD:
"Quite simply superb, a soul map to the center of Being, no less than the story of The One and Only Story. Cousineau is a true master of his craft. I think a copy of this book should be given to every young person to help prepare them for their own search for the threads that will lead them to find and then shape their own personal stories of life. It's a magical work."
-P.J. Curtis, author of The Lightening Tree and Notes from the Heart: A Celebration of Irish Traditional Music

PRAISE FOR PHIL COUSINEAU'S WORK:
"It's just marvelous the way you've demonstrated how similar journeys in myth are to those in art, literature, movies, drama. You've done what all artists and writer must do with the great stuff of myth; you've made it your own."
-Joseph Campbell, mythologist and author of The Hero with a Thousand Faces