Trip to the Moon: Understanding the True Power Of Story
5500
Trip to the Moon: Understanding the True Power Of Story
5500
A masterclass in telling stories - and how they shape our world - from the internationally renowned narrative expert To command narrative is to control a sometimes frightening power. What is it that turbocharges some tales, and how is it possible to harness that potency? John Yorke's groundbreaking bestseller, Into the Woods, revolutionised our understanding of story structure. This new book delves deeper into how to put that structure to work in the world. Trip to the Moon takes us on a journey not just through drama and fiction but through politics, religion and non-western narrative. Through these terrains, Yorke seeks out the role of story in all our lives, examining how to utilise its lessons to create life-changing tales - and, in a world aflame with conspiracy theories, to guard ourselves against their darker purpose too. Revealing the artful symmetry and underlying principles that connect Summer beach reads to Classical Chinese poetry, superhero flicks to Russian arthouse, and classical rhetoric to state propaganda, Yorke makes dazzling connections that show how stories have the power to transfigure the chaos of our existence into a new equilibrium, and make the world anew.
In this invaluable book, John Yorke uncovers the narratives that help us make sense of the world – and offers an antidote to paint-by-numbers screenwriting manuals. You'll learn something new on every page -- Helen Lewis author of The Genius Myth
A masterpiece . . . genius - funny and wise and occasionally profound -- Billy Ivory, writer, Made in Dagenham
Truly excellent, and the best book on "story" that I have ever read. I love the places it took me to. It is a tremendous achievement -- Jimmy McGovern, screenwriter, The Street and The Accused
It’s a dazzling rocket of a book that launches you on a headlong journey through time and space in pursuit of incredible, surprising truths showing how story shapes our worlds and our lives -- Rob Williams, screenwriter for Killing Eve & The Man in the High Castle
We’re all made of stories — and made by them. No one understands this more deeply than John Yorke — and no one writes about it with greater insight and urgency, or more entertainingly. This is a wonderful book -- Neil Cross, creator of Luther and The Iris Affair
Brilliant and Illuminating... John Yorke's Into the Woods is the second best book I know on theories of narrative structure. The best is John Yorke’s latest Trip to the Moon -- John Collee, screenwriter of Master and Commander
I loved this... an endlessly fascinating exploration of how story and structure shape not only the television and films we consume, but also our lives... I feel immeasurably more intelligent having read it! -- Matthew Barry, screenwriter of The Guest
As a fellow story geek, I was captivated... It’s a properly impressive piece of scholarship, and above all, a highly compelling read. A real page turner -- Anna Symon, showrunner on Joan
Few people can understand or explain so clearly the essence of drama and storytelling as John Yorke -- Peter James, author of The Hawk is Dead
A triumph... in this brilliant sequel to Into the Woods, John Yorke digs deeper than ever, unearthing how stories shape the way we think, feel and act in the world. Few writers think about narrative with such courage, curiosity, compassion and dazzling clarity -- Simon Lancaster, speechwriter and author of Connect
A riveting and prescient account of how stories work, and why that matters now more than ever. It gripped me like a thriller. And left me desperate to sit down and write - no mean feat -- Peter McKenna, writer and creator of Kin
I loved this deep dive into the power that stories have on every part of our day-to-day lives. I learned a lot and took many notes. Just utterly fascinating -- Eddie Hamilton, Oscar nominated Film Editor of Top Gun: Maverick and four Mission: Impossible movies
Genuinely dazzling. Yorke’s panoptic understanding of narrative is peerless, and his ability to corral his breadth of knowledge into such a cohesive and readable whole is little short of a magic trick. Mischievous, profound, and thought provoking, it’s both a remarkable achievement and - as you’d expect for a master of storytelling - an incredibly enjoyable read -- Justin Young, Head writer of Sanditon
We live in a world of stories. From politics to religion to Colleen Rooney’s Wagatha Christie tweet – there is infinite power in a well-crafted tale. Trip to the Moon is a beautifully woven story about stories. It deftly explores how meaning is made, how narrative helps us learn, heal and maybe even find ourselves -- Daisy Coulom, showrunner of Granchester
An uplifting meditation on why stories are, in the end, the most human thing of all. Lucid, dazzling, challenging, and somehow hopeful…when the going gets bleak, I will return to this book again and again. Trip to the Moon is a journey every writer needs to take -- Declan Lawn, co-creator and writer of Blue Lights
A miracle of a book. Makes you rethink every story you ever heard, every novel you’ve ever read, every movie you've ever seen -- Matt Charman, Oscar Nominee of Bridge of Spies
This book has everything, and in five acts too. You will remember why bedtime stories captivated you and realise why the latest season of a TV hit falls flat. Even if you believe you write with no formula, this revelatory book will illuminate the hidden patterns of your imagination. Persuasively argued and compellingly written, Trip to the Moon serves as a timely reminder of the power of story to unite us across cultures, space and time -- Kim Sherwood, author of A Spy Like Me
John Yorke has succeeded in codifying meta-concepts that I’ve intuited my whole career, but was never quite able to capture accurately. I dare say, Trip To The Moon has managed to teach this old dog some fundamental new tricks about story -- Andrew Stanton, co-writer of Toy Story , Finding Nemo and Wall-E
Details
ISBN13: 9780241631089
Format: Hardback
Number of Pages: 496
Edition:
Publication Date: 28 Apr 2026
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 24.1(H)x16.3(L)x4.2(W)734
Weight (gm): 734
Author Biography
John Yorke is a producer, consultant and lecturer on all forms of narrative - from speech writing and advertising to drama - and the author of Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world's most lucrative, widely reviewed and critically acclaimed TV dramas, from EastEnders to Shameless, Life on Mars and Wolf Hall.Reviews
His analysis in this instance soars precisely because it escapes into the real world… gleaning joy from unlikely but convincing connections... Yorke's dismantling of how these stories work on us as citizens feels like a public service, granting literacy at a moment of bewildering global rupture -- Basia Cummings * Observer *In this invaluable book, John Yorke uncovers the narratives that help us make sense of the world – and offers an antidote to paint-by-numbers screenwriting manuals. You'll learn something new on every page -- Helen Lewis author of The Genius Myth
A masterpiece . . . genius - funny and wise and occasionally profound -- Billy Ivory, writer, Made in Dagenham
Truly excellent, and the best book on "story" that I have ever read. I love the places it took me to. It is a tremendous achievement -- Jimmy McGovern, screenwriter, The Street and The Accused
It’s a dazzling rocket of a book that launches you on a headlong journey through time and space in pursuit of incredible, surprising truths showing how story shapes our worlds and our lives -- Rob Williams, screenwriter for Killing Eve & The Man in the High Castle
We’re all made of stories — and made by them. No one understands this more deeply than John Yorke — and no one writes about it with greater insight and urgency, or more entertainingly. This is a wonderful book -- Neil Cross, creator of Luther and The Iris Affair
Brilliant and Illuminating... John Yorke's Into the Woods is the second best book I know on theories of narrative structure. The best is John Yorke’s latest Trip to the Moon -- John Collee, screenwriter of Master and Commander
I loved this... an endlessly fascinating exploration of how story and structure shape not only the television and films we consume, but also our lives... I feel immeasurably more intelligent having read it! -- Matthew Barry, screenwriter of The Guest
As a fellow story geek, I was captivated... It’s a properly impressive piece of scholarship, and above all, a highly compelling read. A real page turner -- Anna Symon, showrunner on Joan
Few people can understand or explain so clearly the essence of drama and storytelling as John Yorke -- Peter James, author of The Hawk is Dead
A triumph... in this brilliant sequel to Into the Woods, John Yorke digs deeper than ever, unearthing how stories shape the way we think, feel and act in the world. Few writers think about narrative with such courage, curiosity, compassion and dazzling clarity -- Simon Lancaster, speechwriter and author of Connect
A riveting and prescient account of how stories work, and why that matters now more than ever. It gripped me like a thriller. And left me desperate to sit down and write - no mean feat -- Peter McKenna, writer and creator of Kin
I loved this deep dive into the power that stories have on every part of our day-to-day lives. I learned a lot and took many notes. Just utterly fascinating -- Eddie Hamilton, Oscar nominated Film Editor of Top Gun: Maverick and four Mission: Impossible movies
Genuinely dazzling. Yorke’s panoptic understanding of narrative is peerless, and his ability to corral his breadth of knowledge into such a cohesive and readable whole is little short of a magic trick. Mischievous, profound, and thought provoking, it’s both a remarkable achievement and - as you’d expect for a master of storytelling - an incredibly enjoyable read -- Justin Young, Head writer of Sanditon
We live in a world of stories. From politics to religion to Colleen Rooney’s Wagatha Christie tweet – there is infinite power in a well-crafted tale. Trip to the Moon is a beautifully woven story about stories. It deftly explores how meaning is made, how narrative helps us learn, heal and maybe even find ourselves -- Daisy Coulom, showrunner of Granchester
An uplifting meditation on why stories are, in the end, the most human thing of all. Lucid, dazzling, challenging, and somehow hopeful…when the going gets bleak, I will return to this book again and again. Trip to the Moon is a journey every writer needs to take -- Declan Lawn, co-creator and writer of Blue Lights
A miracle of a book. Makes you rethink every story you ever heard, every novel you’ve ever read, every movie you've ever seen -- Matt Charman, Oscar Nominee of Bridge of Spies
This book has everything, and in five acts too. You will remember why bedtime stories captivated you and realise why the latest season of a TV hit falls flat. Even if you believe you write with no formula, this revelatory book will illuminate the hidden patterns of your imagination. Persuasively argued and compellingly written, Trip to the Moon serves as a timely reminder of the power of story to unite us across cultures, space and time -- Kim Sherwood, author of A Spy Like Me
John Yorke has succeeded in codifying meta-concepts that I’ve intuited my whole career, but was never quite able to capture accurately. I dare say, Trip To The Moon has managed to teach this old dog some fundamental new tricks about story -- Andrew Stanton, co-writer of Toy Story , Finding Nemo and Wall-E