The Power of Myth

by Joseph Campbell

The national bestseller, now available in a non-illustrated, standard format paperback edition
 
The Power of Myth launched an extraordinary resurgence of interest in Joseph Campbell and his work. A preeminent scholar, writer, and teacher, he has had a profound influence on millions of people--including Star Wars creator George Lucas. To Campbell, mythology was the “song of the universe, the music of the spheres.” With Bill Moyers, one of America’s most prominent journalists, as his thoughtful and engaging interviewer, The Power of Myth touches on subjects from modern marriage to virgin births, from Jesus to John Lennon, offering a brilliant combination of intelligence and wit.

This extraordinary book reveals how the themes and symbols of ancient narratives continue to bring meaning to birth, death, love, and war. From stories of the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece and Rome to traditions of Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity, a broad array of themes are considered that together identify the universality of human experience across time and culture. An impeccable match of interviewer and subject, a timeless distillation of Campbell’s work, The Power of Myth continues to exert a profound influence on our culture.  

• ISBN10: 0385418868
• ISBN13: 9780385418867
• Publish Date: 1 June 1991 (first published 1 May 1988)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group
• Edition: Anchor Books ed
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780385418867

Reviews

[jamiereadthis]

It’s been a few years since I read this but there is just as much great stuff in here this time through. I think this book, these ideas, shaped my brain more than I ever realized. So many of these ideas are just second nature now.

Idealistic and/or swampy in parts but so provoking, challenging, and valuable.

[ladygrey]

This book came highly recommended to me and I knew [a:Joseph Campbell|2938140|Jacob Grimm|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1242997930p2/2938140.jpg] has been highly influential in the modern study of mythology. As an explorer of storytelling I was excited to finally sit down and see what he had to say. What I found was largely disappointing. When he actually spoke about stories and the hero's journey and the role of myth in shaping society it was pretty interesting. But probably 60-70% of the book he spends deep in nature god and pagan myths and Buddhism and Indian myths that I found less relevant to the art and influence of storytelling. And I disagreed with the way he equated Christian myths with all other myths. I agree with [a:C.S. Lewis|1069006|C.S. Lewis|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1211981595p2/1069006.jpg] who said, "The story of Christ is simply a true myth: a myth working on us in the same way as the others, but with this tremendous difference that it really happened."

Overall, if I was going to be reading about the philosophy of storytelling I would have rather been reading Lewis or [a:J.R.R. Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1199863358p2/656983.jpg] or [a:Madeleine L'Engle|106|Madeleine L'Engle|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1198342840p2/106.jpg] or [a:Frederick Buechner|19982|Frederick Buechner|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-M-50x66.jpg].