Amazon.com Review: Originally written by Campbell in the '40s-- in his pre-Bill Moyers days -- and famous as George Lucas' inspiration for "Star Wars," this book will likewise inspire any writer or reader in its well considered assertion that while all stories have already been told, this is *not* a bad thing, since the *retelling* is still necessary. And while our own life's journey must always be ended alone, the travel is undertaken in the company not only of immediate loved ones and primal passion, but of the heroes and heroines -- and myth-cycles -- that have preceded us.
Product Description: Joseph Campbell's classic cross-cultural study of the hero's journey has inspired millions and opened up new areas of research and exploration. Originally published in 1949, the book hit the New York Times best-seller list in 1988 when it became the subject of The Power of Myth, a PBS television special.
The first popular work to combine the spiritual and psychological insights of modern psychoanalysis with the archetypes of world mythology, the book creates a roadmap for navigating the frustrating path of contemporary life. Examining heroic myths in the light of modern psychology, it considers not only the patterns and stages of mythology but also its relevance to our lives today--and to the life of any person seeking a fully realized existence.
Myth, according to Campbell, is the projection of a culture's dreams onto a large screen; Campbell's book, like Star Wars, the film it helped inspire, is an exploration of the big-picture moments from the stage that is our world. It is a must-have resource for both experienced students of mythology and the explorer just beginning to approach myth as a source of knowledge.
Intelligent - influential - Good for anybody who needs uplifting or just enjoys mythology ^ I find it funny how many people discredit this book considering I mean we all have they same brain and the perceptions that come from our brain, whether we have studied something or not or whether we were influenced or not science explains to use that we will recreate a similar story to fit our understanding of life on earth. We all think the same, we all have the same method of understanding things, we even have similar visions, relate things in a similar way etc... You get my drift, Right? We have nature, seasons, a universe, man, woman, child, a sun and a moon, we are people with the same brain structure and and organs, we all connect and bond in some way and WE ALL DIE. It is no wonder we are basically the same even if a little different because we all have the same thing in common, we are people. I understand that in parts of the world it is night when it is day in another part, or it's a different season even when we celebrate at almost the same time. I understand the northern Hemisphere is dark when the southern hemisphere is light. I see the differences but we all think alike even if not by intention because we are all on the same planet. It's no wonder then that it's common to have Near Death Experiences even if some parts of the world report who haven't even heard of them and not to mention see the Gods of other cultures instead of their own cultural deities.
I love the book alot and would give it 10 stars myself. Even if outdated, this book has influenced the modern generation more than just about any that has ever been written. Anything this book has influenced has become just as popular as the message it provides us...
Hero with a thousand faces ^ Creative writing instructor recommended this book. It's analysis of people and why they take the actions they do is a great tool in developing characters. I had read the book in college and this was an enjoyable re-read. Excellent book very thought provoking
Perennial classic but outmoded ^ This is a perennial classic and as such will continue to sell, but its contents have been repudiated time and again by Campbell's fellow academics. It is good to see that the Introduction to the 2004 Commemorative Edition has been eliminated; it was totally unnecessary and almost constituted a book in itself by the sycophantic Dr. Estes. Campbell's obsession with seeing the entire world and all of life through Freudian psychobabble is a discredited approach to mythology that insults most of the civilizations and religions he attacks or tries to undermine. Mythology does not occupy the modern mind or any facet of sociology today except in the ravings of lunatics and prison inmates, for most of whom a sense of identity has been severed from the rest of the human race.
Very interesting, a little lacking in the academic ^ In The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell seeks to use the concept of Jungian archetypes to explore the mythology of world culture. He proposes a structure for the universal hero myth-- the monomyth-- which he sees as holding true for the hero myth in every culture at every time period. And by and large he's correct-- his idea is extremely compelling. He puts forth this idea within the first chapter or two of the book, then becomes rather rambling and digressive, relating bizarre myths from various cultures and discussing them in relation to ideas that some will find rather New Age-y. It reads kind of like Nietzsche-- poetically written philosophy. I enjoyed the book very much and find myself still chewing over Campbell's ideas-- thinking about contemporary movies and stories in relation to the monomyth. I have to say, however, that my interest petered off by the end-- one could read the first few chapters, get the basic idea, and leave it at that. I would highly recommend those first few chapters, though. They will provide you with some excellent and compelling food for thought.
Humanities Scholar Writing for the Layperson ^ So what is "Hero?" Campbell is a comparative mythologist, and the original title was "How to Read a Myth." While scholarly in nature, "Hero" is not a formal scholarly paper and should not be read as such. Instead, it falls in the realm of literature. Campbell was awarded the National Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Contributions to Creative Literature for "Hero." As a scholar, he was particularly proud of this fact. While the book is not necessarily an easy read, it was written for the general public. It's difficulty may account for the "snooze factor" some reviewers attribute to it. "Hero" is a broad survey of what is similar about the world's mythologies, remarkable in breadth for its length. Rather than focus on what makes us different, as most comparative religion scholars do, he chose to focus on what makes us similar. If this interests you I suggest you read it. If after you are finished you wish for more depth, I suggest you try his four volume series "Masks of God."
If you read some of the negative reviews you will get the impression Campbell tries to provide you with answers to life's great mysteries. This is false. Instead, he borrows vocabulary from a staggering variety of the world's mythologies to describe that mystery. You will also get the impression that Campbell thinks he found the one and only way to interpret mythology. This is also false. On page one of the epilogue he says, "There is no final system for the interpretation of myths, and there will never be any such thing." You may also get the impression that Campbell was a mystic or part of the New Age movement. Again, false. When asked what method of meditation he practices, he once responded, "I underline sentences." In other words, he is a scholar.
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