Story

Telling with
Intent
The Sustainability Story That Makes
Your Point Wins

Written by Tim Hedgeland

International Association of Research
Universities Fellow (Oxford)
UC Berkeley Office of Sustainability and Energy

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 What is a Story?

Booklet inspired by McNeilly &

Stoll (2014)

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People tell stories everyday – whether it is
in a professional environment, or talking
to their friends and loved ones. It is an art
which is a necessity. But how precisely
can you define what a story is?
In its simplest sense, a story can be anything
that is told or recounted by one speaker to The Narrative
another (Denning, 2009). Indeed, Mark
Twain is known to have simply commented
“…that a tale shall accomplish something
and arrive somewhere.” (Twain, 1994)
The
Devlopment
But notably, Denning points out that a story of Meaning
generally is more than ‘A happened to B,’
but rather the development of meaning
within the plot. ‘What happened’ is simply
narrative, whilst the actual changes to
characters that occur throughout the The Final
journey are what create the story (Martin, Story
2011).
Rayfield (2009) expanded beyond this idea
though, as he states that a story also
requires the structure to have a certain
minimal and maximal degree of complexity
and to be of a certain ‘kind.’ Under an
experiment, listeners responded to
structure rather than content when asked to
identify what was and was not a story, even
when the stories he were presented were
non-sensical, but had the correct structure. “[A] STORY IS A REIMAGINED
Stories in the past allowed us to make sense EXPERIENCE NARRATED WITH
of a rapidly changing world, whilst also ENOUGH DETAIL AND FEELING TO
providing a method to learn valuable lessons.
CAUSE YOUR LISTENERS’
Today, the definition of a story remains
much the same, with a narrative being IMAGINATIONS TO EXPERIENCE IT AS
transformed into a story, if the story serves WELL.”
some over-arching purpose, and therefore
Annette Simmons (Simmons, Whoever tells
develops meaning. the Best Story Wins , 2007)

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 Why Tell Stories
with Intent?

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Telling stories with intent has been
carried out for eons; whether it was the
Roman Centurion telling of his great
victory to his comrades to inspire
confidence, or the Egyptian Priest telling
stories of the afterlife to create devout
believers. It is undeniable that stories
have always been seen as important – but
why?
This ancient art has been used by many
great speakers throughout history, and
creates many of the most memorable
messages (eg: Aesop’s Fables which have
survived over 2500 years).
A good story has the ability to motivate and Figure 1 - Martin Luther King Jr's famous "I
inspire others. Martin Luther King Jr’s have a dream" speech acted as a story to
Famous “I have a dream” speech is a perfect inspire and motivate others.
example of this, acting as a rallying cry for behavior within the audience, or a similar
many years later. Although famous speeches behavioral change.
throughout history have led to such rallying
Metaphors and analogies are common tools
points, they need not be as extreme as this
in storytelling to help drive a point home, as
shown by various religious figureheads in
the past, as well as countless others through

“HUMANS HAVE USED STORY Self-

revelation
POWER TO REMEMBER,
ENTERTAIN, AND PERSUADE SINCE
Easier to Teach and
WE USED ROCKS AS KNIVES.” remember educate

Laurie Bennett (Bennett, 2013)

example, as any good story has the ability Why

to drive others to perform better by Tell
Make a Motivate
invoking emotional responses - no matter point by Stories? and
how small the issue. The story can act to metaphor inspire
or analogy others
catch people’s attention too – an
entertaining story, a funny story or an
emotional story can all cause the
audience to become invested in the
message the story-teller is making. This is Get
Appeal to
people’s
particularly important within the emotion
attention
sustainability sector – espescially when
your intent here is to encourage green

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the ages. By breaking the story down into some of the data and graphs in sustainability
something simpler, it means that it becomes (e.g., use a story to show how much coal is
easier to understand the message that is needed to power a lightbulb. Link until
being explained. On top of this, by relating 2:10).
abstract issues to more mundane and
The story can also act as self-revelation,
common situations, it means that people
explaining who you are to the audience,
can more readily apply the messages to
allowing yourself to be seen in a different
their everyday lives. The issues raised allow
light. (See ‘Who-Am-I? stories for more
the storyteller to teach and educate the
information). Such an act can endear you to
audience through these methods, and
an audience, or allow yourself to be framed
inspire new points of view. Metaphors and
in a more positive light in a hostile situation.
analogies can be most helpful to explain

10 MORE REASONS TO TELL STORIES

In his book (Smith, 2007), Paul Smith notes his 10 reasons to answer the question ‘Why
Tell Stories?’:
1. Storytelling is simple – and notably can be done by anyone.

2. Storytelling is timeless – it has always worked and always will.

3. Stories are demographic-proof – ie: any age, race or gender can be affected by
the same story.

4. Stories are contagious.

5. Stories are easier to remember.

6. Stories inspire.

7. Stories appeal to ALL types of learners – whether visual, auditory or

kinesthetic learners.

8. Stories fit better where most of the learning happens – in the workplace.

9. Stories put the listener in a mental learning mode – as opposed to critical or

evaluative modes, where the listener is more likely to reject what is being said.

10. Telling stories shows respect for the audience – they give more freedom for
the audience to come to their own conclusions.

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The Types of Story
(Inspired by Simmons, 2007)

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So you need to tell a story – but how
should you tell it? Luckily, stories to be How Can This Apply to
told with intent fall nicely into a few Sustainability?
categories which we will explore now!
This is not an exhaustive list, but four of  How did you become interested in
the most relevant to sustainability. So sustainability yourself?
let’s dive straight in…
 What projects have you worked on in
the past that you consider a
success/failure/defining moment in
your career?
The ‘Who-am-I? Story  Who mentored you to start work in the
sustainability sector? What did they do
What is it? to inspire you?
A story to explain who you are, and what
background you come from. Eg: Why did you of trust;” ie: the fact that once people
became passionate about sustainability? know you, they are more likely to trust you
Why use it? (even if this is entirely irrational).

Explaining who you are can have a multitude In the more unusual situation where you are
of benefits, which vary depending on the trying to connect with a potentially “hostile”
type of audience that you are speaking to. audience, the Who-Am-I story can also allow
A Who-Am-I explanation can be used with you to break down the ‘us’ and ‘them.’ If
groups who support you to increase their people do not know your background, they
confidence in your abilities, or as a way to subconsciously assume the worst (Simmons,
set up the groundwork before you launch 2007), meaning that they assume that you
into your points. The gist of the technique have something to gain by influencing them.
is to let the audience know who you really Tips
are (or who you want them to think you are),
so that they feel familiar with you, and are It does not matter whether it is a
therefore far more likely to listen to your biographical story from your life or not, as
arguments. long as it allows you to reveal part of your
personality to the audience (Holland, 2012).
People are naturally inclined to assume that It could be about an event or place that
a stranger is untrustworthy. This doesn’t reveals your feelings and thoughts.
mean that they dislike you, simply that they
don’t know enough about you to trust you Example
yet. A New York Times / CBS published
report in July 1999 asked “Of people in Photographer Edward Burtynsky explains
general, how many of them do you think are why he became passionate about the
trustworthy?” getting the answer of 30%. environment – click here.
They then continued by asking “Of people
you know, how many do you think are “THE ESSENCE OF TRUST BUILDING
trustworthy?” This gave the much larger IS TO EMPHASIZE THE SIMILARITIES
figure of 70%. Simmons (2007) notes that BETWEEN YOU AND THE
not only is this “statistically impossible,”
but that it shows the “non-linear dynamics CUSTOMER.”
Thomas J. Watson
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The ‘Why-am-I-Here’ Story
Why use it?
What is it?
The idea of this type of story is to turn
When presenting to an audience, it is someone’s initial suspicion into trust in you.
important to gain their trust. The audience Allowing such trust means that the person
is unlikely to respond positively unless they can put their faith into the message you are
know what you will be ‘getting’ out of the trying to purvey. Simmons (2006) notes that
situation. When presenting to a new even a man with selfish goals seems more
audience, sometimes it is assumed that trustworthy once he explains “Why he is
anyone trying to convince someone of there.”
something will be gaining from the
enterprise (Simmons, Whoever tells the Best
Tips
Story Wins , 2007), and therefore that the Build on truth and authenticity and speak
audience is being duped. from the heart.
It is important therefore to explain how the Example
scheme benefits you if it does, or if not, why
you are driven to spread this idea to others. Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in
Once a speaker is seen to be honest, it South Central LA — in abandoned lots,
becomes far easier to accept their ideas and traffic medians, along the curbs. Why? For
to trust them. fun, for defiance, for beauty and to offer
some alternative to fast food in a
community where "the drive-thrus are
killing more people than the drive-bys."
Listen to this talk here.

Think about how this acts as a ‘Why-am-I-

How Can This Apply to Here’ story, and a ‘Who-am-I Story.’ Also
Sustainability? note the use of humour to make the story
more memorable.
 Why are you interested in
sustainability?
 What do you gain out of encouraging
others to be sustainable? Why do you
have a selfless goal?
 May closely link with the ‘Who-Am-I’
story (as in the example below)
 What benefits would sustainable
practices bring to YOUR organization if
they were taken up by the target Figure 2 Ron Finley Relies on a Why-Am-I-
audience? Here Story to Make His Point ©TED

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The Vision Story goal makes the target seem like a sensible
idea and one that is “worth it.” It works
because in a sensory level the audience
What is it?
“…go[es] there” (Smith, 2007).
An ability to share your ideas for the future
Techniques like this are useful to encourage
is vital to any speaker, espescially one
those who were not necessarily involved in
talking about sustainability, where
the decisions that it is a worth-while process
questions involving the future of the
to undertake, and allows people to believe
environment around us are asked every day.
that they can do more than they previously
Therefore, it is important to be able to
thought possible (Holland, 2012).
express your vision to people, and therefore
inspire them to try to reach attainable
targets.
The previously mentioned “I have a dream”
speech is a vision story, where the vision of
an equal future is laid out before the How Can This Apply to
audience. However, any speech setting out Sustainability?
interim or long term targets shows your
vision to the audience, and can be classified
as a vision speech.  What goals are you planning to reach in
your organization? Think in terms of all
A vision speech should be free from aspects of sustainability, including
empirical data however, but rather one that energy, climate, water, the built
sets the scene for once a target has been environment, waste, procurement,
reached (Simmons, Vision, 2014). food, transportation and land use.

Figure 3 - Vision stories allow you to explain  What could you improve in any of the
your targets and aims without empirical data above?

Example
Listen to Dara O’Rourke, A professor at UCB
who started GoodGuide and uses this story
often to explain what he plans to do with the
company. Listen to the beginning of the clip
here until 6:40.

“A VISION STORY RAISES YOUR GAZE

Why use it?
FROM CURRENT DIFFICULTIES TO
Interim and final goals and targets always
FUTURE PAYOFF THAT SUCCESSFULLY
motivate the audience. These goals can be
represented by scenarios dreamed up by the COMPETES WITH THE TEMPTATION TO
speaker to show the end product of their GIVE UP, COMPROMISE OR CHANGE
ideas, whether it is a low-litter campus, or DIRECTION.”
a zero net emissions building. The envisaged
Annette Simmons (2007)

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The ‘I-Know-What-You’re- How Can This Apply to
Sustainability?
Thinking’ Story
 Often, those involved in sustainability
What is it? may come up against those who
You may go to speak to an audience and believe that sustainability is important
expect them to be pre-dispositioned to hold but other matters are more pressing,
or those who are skeptical about
set opinions. Most people hold inherent
environmental issues. By initialing
preconceptions, meaning that if they
countering this by pointing out the
already think that you will have a certain ramifications of your issue and how it
personality or will be talking about a will directly affect the audience, you
certain aspect of sustainability, then they will start the discussion on fairer
will automatically look for the negatives ground.
from your pitch, even if they are trying not
to. Eg: An audience expects you to give an  This can often be applied to much
eco-sustainability speech, but instead you smaller issues too, such as dealing with
counter this and give them a ‘this is how this minor concerns that have gone unsaid.
Simmons (2007) points out that unsaid
will benefit you economically’ speech. One
ideas will “shrivel” under cross-
can prepare a response to any negative
examination, leaving people much
ideas before they are voiced, as way of more open to agreeing with your
gaining a better stand point to make your proposals.
argument.
These stories are not only needed for when
Tips
negative preconceptions are in place, but Validate their point of view as entirely
can be used for stories where the audience reasonable before you dismiss it – this does
is expecting one particular bit of nothing to weaken your argument, but
information, but you can instead give means that your opponent is more likely to
another. believe what you are saying.
Why use it? It might require thinking about this process
before the talk and researching viewpoints
If the conversation starts by showing you are
that don’t coincide with your own.
aware of the preconceptions around your
proposal, and even showing that you have Example
previously overcome the issues that the
Stewart Brand starts off this talk of some of the
audience may hold against you, you will be more controversial topics in sustainability, by
able to start the discussion on a much firmer explaining his environmental background, to
footing, and cast aside certain ideas that dismiss those who would claim him to not have
the audience may have developed. a good enough knowledge of the subject. This is
a brilliant example of both a ‘Who-Am-I?’ and
This technique often allows you to dismiss
an ‘I-Know-What-You’re-Thinking’ story
their thoughts preemptively, without
sounding defensive.

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 Storytelling
Techniques

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So now you have decided on which type of Which emotions should I appeal to?
story to tell, you just have to tell it – but
finding a persuasive way to tell it is often It is important to appeal to the correct
hard. By looking for certain techniques emotions for the point you are trying to
make and its intended audience. As Smith
that can commonly be applied to stories,
you can become a more persuasive story (2007) points out, there is no point trying to
teller. tell a sad story about puppies to tug at
people’s heart strings, unless you are trying
to sell puppies, otherwise this emotion is
Appeals to Emotion useless.
There are a wide range of emotions you can
consider appealing to:
 Joy
 Anger
 Pathos
 Sympathy
 Empathy
 Fear
 Disgust
 Trust
 Anticipation
Figure 4 - Emotions can be powerful drivers of Empathy is perhaps the most useful,
stories
allowing the storyteller to transport the
audience into his (or his characters’) shoes
and feel what they feel, to allow the
Why do it? audience to see the world through the
character’s eyes, even if they won’t agree
Emotion is a powerful tool. A good story has
with it.
the power to elicit emotion in its audience,
as can be amply demonstrated by the However, all emotions are useful to appeal
impact some people feel from certain to, under different circumstances.
movies, where emotional investment in the It is important to remember that although
characters can make what happens to them emotion can catch people’s attention, other
far more powerful. The same is true in any steps need to be taken to spur people into
story you tell, whether the character in the action.
story is you or another.
Many authors seem to believe that a story “THE GOAL OF… STORIES IS NOT TO HAVE
without emotion is simply a narrative, and THE READER OR VIEWER AGREE WITH YOU
the emotional content (rather than the BUT SIMPLY TO CONNECT WITH YOUR
meaning previously discussed) transforms it
WORLDVIEW.”
into a story.
Ted Fickes (2012)

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 Although this is an extreme example (called
How Can This Apply to flash fiction), it makes an important point:
your story does not have to be long to create
Sustainability? it’s desired effect. Waffling will not help
your point – instead it will bore your
Think about how you can use these audience so that they pay less attention to
emotions to make your point: the central tenant of your story. Therefore,
it is vital to be concise when telling a story.
 Could you use anger or pathos to make
the audience annoyed or concerned
about the state of an environmental
site? “IF I HAD MORE TIME, THIS
 Could you use fear and guilt to trigger WOULD HAVE BEEN A SHORTER
people into action to support your LETTER”
cause?
Winston Churchill (and others)
 Could you use joy about reaching
certain targets to try and allow a Simmons (2007) points out that a briefer
process to remain operational? story should take a longer time to compose.
It should not be a case of immediately going
for the snappy line, but building up a large
story before editing it, so that the whole
Brevity picture will still come across in the story.
One should edit out the areas where there
are conflicting messages, leaving only a
According to legend, a fellow writer
cleaner shorter story, with only one possible
challenged Earnest Hemmingway to create
interpretation.
an entire story in six words, for a $10 wager.
Much to their shock he responded with a It is vital however to check that your edited
story that elicited an emotional response story still sends the message you intended
from those around him. His story read “For originally.
sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
Intial Brief
Figure 5 - Hemmingway famously showed the Basic Edited
importance of brevity with his six word story Outline Story

Longer
Story

Figure 6 - You must first create a longer story

to create a brief one

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The Importance of Positive officer creating restrictions; we had to
place the turbine in our second choice field.”
Actions in Stories
Instead, tell the story “The planning officer
approved the plan for the turbine in field B,
When referring to a story of a past action, which was in the top two sites we where we
one can either focus on the positive or wanted to place it.”
negative side. Simmons demonstrates this
by considering a plumber coming to your The positive action reinforces the idea of
house, explaining you could tell 2 stories: positivity towards your projects, meaning
that you are more likely to receive a
1) The plumber who came initially, positive response from your audience.
charged exorbitant prices and did a
shoddy job.
2) The second plumber who came to fix Surprising the audience
the job on the weekend and gave you
a good deal, after hearing the story
of the first contractor. When you explain your message, you need
to make sure that you capture your
By focusing on the first story, you are audience’s attention. The best way of doing
setting a negative precedent. Although this this is using the element of surprise in your
story does have its uses, it does nothing story.
other than warn of a bad plumber and
portray you as a victim. By contrast, the
second story sets a much more positive
“A STORY TO ME MEANS A
precedent and acts as an inspiration for PLOT WHERE THERE IS SOME
others to go the extra mile, as he did. Only SURPRISE.BECAUSE THAT IS
the second story could be deemed as HOW LIFE IS - FULL OF
inspiring positive behavior by the audience.
SURPRISES”
Therefore, when you are setting up your
story, you should always make sure that it
Isaac Bashevis, Singer
sends a positive message.
Eg: Don’t tell the story “We couldn’t build
Many people listen to stories often, meaning
turbine in field A due to the planning
that when one subverts the expectations of
what the listener is expecting to hear, the
message can really catch their attention.
The act of a surprise can also serve as a
memory aid. Having an unusual ending will
more likely mean that the brain will
remember the message you are trying to
convey. Think about some stories you have
been told recently – do the ones that stick
the most have surprises in them?
Figure 7 - What is the best way to talk about
the planning application for your turbine?

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Analogies and Metaphors speaker is still able to make the point he
wants.

Analogies and metaphors can be as useful as

entire arguments when you are trying to get Know Your Audience
a specific point across. By choosing an
initially complex idea, and explaining it as a
It is important that your story is tailored to
far simpler one, you can explain your
your audience. Obviously a pitch you would
message without becoming bogged down in
give to a board of directors needs to differ
the technicalities.
from that you would give to a group of
For example, when explaining a subject students.
where there might be a lot of technical
Gaughen (2013) describes a story like a
language (eg: precise details of technical
“multi-faceted crystal” where the overall
environmental legislation) can be simplified
story is the same, but each face of the
for certain audiences through an analogy
crystal represents a different method of
with a process they are more familiar with
storytelling depending on the audience and
(eg: a recipe). The complex idea has now
medium.
been greatly simplified, and the non-
technical audience can now far more easily It is important to consider a few categories
understand your message. regarding the intended audience before
launching into your story:
If a message is easier to understand, beyond
explaining the idea more simply, it has a  Technical Expertise
few other benefits:  Initial Interest
 Age
 An analogy or metaphor often proves
 Setting
far more memorable.
 By providing a simpler explanation, Obviously in the example above, a board of
there is less chance of some of the directors requires a much more serious and
audience ‘switching-off.’ technical tone than the group of students
(where it probably would be a good idea to
crack a few jokes to generate more interest
Humor in your story).
It is important when you tell a story not to
just get the message to stick, but rather to
spur the audience into doing some positive
actions.
Humor is a powerful tool in this respect, as
it not only creates the memorable story that
we have been talking about previously, but
it also acts as a relatable and enjoyable
experience for the audience, meaning that
they will be more likely to ‘hear the
message’ and therefore act on it. The Figure 8 - A Group of Students Might Need a
audience will enjoy the joke, whilst the Radically Different Method of Storytelling than
a Board of Directors

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 HOW DO I FIND STORIES?

(Based on Smith (2007) with some additions)

 Stories from your past – lessons you have learnt through personal
experiences. You can try and think of these under 3 main categories
(Smith):
o Successes
o Failures
o Mentors

 Stories you see happen – any events that you witness, where a person
you know is the ‘central character’ of the story.

 Anecdotes from others – repeat stories you are told by others. Many
of these are ready to be repeated immediately in the relevant
situation.
o Ask your colleagues and friends for suggestions for stories that
you could use.

 Stories from strangers – from articles on the internet, and stories

from books.
o TED Talks (available online at http://www.ted.com/
o YouTube interviews with members of your industry
o Books about storytelling are often full of excellent stories that
can be reused (eg: those in the references section).

“WHATEVER STORY YOU'RE TELLING, IT WILL BE MORE

INTERESTING IF, AT THE END YOU ADD, "AND THEN EVERYTHING
BURST INTO FLAMES.”
Brian P. Cleary

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 Bibliography and
Further Reading
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Bennett, L. (2013, January 21st). The Guardian. Retrieved from www.theguardian.com/:
http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/telling-positive-stories-sustainability-
marketing
Denning, S. (2009). What is a story? What is narrative meaning? Retrieved from SteveDenning.com:
http://www.stevedenning.com/Business-Narrative/definitions-of-story-and-narrative.aspx
Fickes, T. (2012, October 15). The Force of Empathy in Storytelling. Retrieved from ClimateAccess.org:
http://www.climateaccess.org/blog/force-empathy-storytelling
Fleischer, D. (2014, April 4). 4 Tips for Telling a Great Sustainability Story– Documentary Style.
Retrieved from Green Impact: http://www.greenimpact.com/sustainability/4-tips-for-telling-
a-great-sustainability-story-documentary-style/
Gaughen, N. (2013, November 8). Advocacy Storytelling: Tailoring your Story to the Audience.
Retrieved from Stori.es: http://www.stori.es/posts/162-advocacy-storytelling-tailoring-your-
story-to-the-audience
Green. (2001). Total Memory Workout: 8 Easy Steps to Maximum Memory Fitness . Bantam.
Holland, K. (2012). Six Types of Influential Stories. Retrieved from The Beckon:
http://www.thebeckon.com/six-types-of-stories-to-influence-others/
Martin, P. (2011). How to Write Your Best Story. Crickhollow Books.
McNeilly, L., & Stoll, K. (2014). Storytelling with Intent: The Sustainability Story That Makes Your Point
Wins., (pp. 1-13).
Rayfield. (2009). What Is a Story? American Anthropologist, pp 1085–1106.
Simmons. (2006). The Story Factor. Basic Books.
Simmons. (2007). Whoever tells the Best Story Wins . AMACOM.
Simmons. (2014). Vision. Retrieved from AnnetteSimmons.com:
http://www.annettesimmons.com/storytelling/six-kinds-of-story/vision/
Smith. (2007). Lead with a Story . AMACON.
Stoll, M. a. (2014). Storytelling with Intent: The Sustainability Story That Makes Your Point Wins., (pp.
1-13).
Twain, M. (1994). Tales, Speeches, Essays, and Sketches. Penguin.

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 Printed on August 13, 2014

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