The amazing, best-selling exploration of world myth and the individual soul's development that has changed millions of lives and was the focus of t...
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Mar 08, 2008
Trevor
rated it: 
We studied the Myth Cycle at Uni and I was interested enough to come back to this book years later and read the whole thing. It is well worth a read – an endlessly fascinating book by a fascinating man.
The idea is that there is basically only one story, the grand story of our lives, the monomyth. This story is told in millions of different ways, but ultimately every story ever told is either just a retelling of this grand story, or it is a re-telling of certain aspects of this mo More...
The idea is that there is basically only one story, the grand story of our lives, the monomyth. This story is told in millions of different ways, but ultimately every story ever told is either just a retelling of this grand story, or it is a re-telling of certain aspects of this mo More...
Mar 30, 2008
Bracken
rated it: 
I was very excited to read this work because of its potential to teach me a great deal about mythology, but found that it was a total piece of tripe. I felt like Campbell was trying too hard to prove his knowledge, which was apparent in the great diversity of myths referenced in the work, but he failed to logically plan the layout of the text. I can understand the overall layout of the text, but it didn't work on the chapter/section scale. It was so disorganized that I often felt like a membe
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Mar 25, 2007
Steven
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Page 156 “And there takes place, then, that dramatic divorce of the two principles of love and hate which the pages of history so beautifully illustrate. Instead of clearing his own heart the zealot tries to clear the world. The laws of the City of God are applied only to his in-group (tribe, church, nation, class, or what not) while the fire of a perpetual holy war is hurled (with good conscience, and indeed a sense of pious service) against whatever uncircumcised, barbarian, heathen, “native,”
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Apr 20, 2008
Katie
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Wow. This book blows my mind every time I pick it up. It has taken me years to heed the advice of friends and family and read the thing (don’t wait as long as I did), but I’ve finished with a renewed sense of what it means to be an artist/writer/human and a perceived momentum I’ve found nowhere else. There is energy, wisdom and strength in the connections Campbell draws.
I’ve also placed myself firmly in the Campbell camp of dissecting story structure (suck it Robert Mckee, or better More...
I’ve also placed myself firmly in the Campbell camp of dissecting story structure (suck it Robert Mckee, or better More...
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Dec 05, 2011
Moses
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Every one who believes in destiny, in dreams, and in the universality of human experience and their particular stories should, at least once in their lifetime, read this book.
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Jan 05, 2012
Nicholas
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http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1811366.ht...
I have to say that I was rather disappointed by this classic work on mythology. On the plus side, it is indeed fascinating to put myths from very different points in time and space beside each other to note the similarities; Campbell is consistent and clinical in subjecting the Bible to the same scrutiny as any other culture; and for myself, I learned a thing or two about Cuchulain, not just a local hero and contributor to Ulster geography but More...
I have to say that I was rather disappointed by this classic work on mythology. On the plus side, it is indeed fascinating to put myths from very different points in time and space beside each other to note the similarities; Campbell is consistent and clinical in subjecting the Bible to the same scrutiny as any other culture; and for myself, I learned a thing or two about Cuchulain, not just a local hero and contributor to Ulster geography but More...
Jul 24, 2011
John E.
rated it:
A serious attempt at this point to describe and evaluate Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces, which was first published in 1949 and is now almost a part of our intellectual furniture, seems not only difficult but also unnecessary. A few words in summary, followed by some personal reactions, may do.
As many people know, whether or not they've read it, this is the book in which Campbell draws on aspects of psychology, particularly the idea of archetypes, to survey worldwide myths More...
As many people know, whether or not they've read it, this is the book in which Campbell draws on aspects of psychology, particularly the idea of archetypes, to survey worldwide myths More...
Jul 21, 2011
Paul
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One of the most important books of the 20th century, Campbell's breakout text transformed the word myth from denoting something antique, primitive, and false into one signifying those stories and images that express the deepest and strongest forces that underlie our lives today, as they always have done and always will.
I first heard the name of Joseph Campbell in 1979, during my three-month flirtation with university education at UBC. My English prof was a passionate enthusiast of Camp More...
I first heard the name of Joseph Campbell in 1979, during my three-month flirtation with university education at UBC. My English prof was a passionate enthusiast of Camp More...
Jun 18, 2009
Oakshaman
rated it:
A Book with a capital "B."
First of all, I feel inadequate and unworthy to review this book, but since I have been given the chance, all I can say is that this is one of the greatest Books (with a capital "B") of my experience. I suspect that it shall be recognised as one of the single greatest products to come out of 20th century American letters.
No, I'm not setting Campbell up as a prophet or anything like that, indeed, I suspect that th More...
First of all, I feel inadequate and unworthy to review this book, but since I have been given the chance, all I can say is that this is one of the greatest Books (with a capital "B") of my experience. I suspect that it shall be recognised as one of the single greatest products to come out of 20th century American letters.
No, I'm not setting Campbell up as a prophet or anything like that, indeed, I suspect that th More...
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Apr 18, 2009
Christopher
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The image of man within is not to be confounded with the garments. We think of ourselves as Americans, children of the twentieth century, occidentals, civilized Christians. We are virtuous or sinful. Yet such designations do not tell what it is to be man, they denote only the accidents of geography, birth-date, and income. What is the core of us? What is the basic character of our being?
The asceticism of the medieval saints and of the yogis of India, the Hellenistic More...
The asceticism of the medieval saints and of the yogis of India, the Hellenistic More...
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Apr 12, 2009
Jenny
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Joseph Campbell wrote an amazing book about the human journey. He describes the process of a “hero” and the challenges and obstacles that they go through everyday in order to become that person that they want to be. Campbell uses examples from various myths, legends, history and our present society to confirm his theory. Every human is a hero and their identity is shaped through the events they go through and people who they come across. It is only through this journey that we find out w
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Sep 21, 2009
Rebecca
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This text is one of those often-quoted, seldom read old classics. It irks many, inspires some, and baffles most. I found myself irked, inspired and baffled on nearly every page. Still, I’m very glad I finally read it—-Campbell’s ideas have re-animated my reading and thinking. Problematic, definitely, but also illuminating.
The irksome and baffling bits first: Campbell cherrypicks what myths to include in his analysis. He chooses his evidence to create a really elegant Copernican unive More...
The irksome and baffling bits first: Campbell cherrypicks what myths to include in his analysis. He chooses his evidence to create a really elegant Copernican unive More...
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Dec 13, 2008
David
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Many people cite it, but few have actually read this compelling dissection of human hero stories. Campbell discovers a universal framework he calls the Monomyth (often referred to as The Hero's Journey), which is the general pattern of adventures that mythological heroes encounter during their quests. It's a cyclical pattern inspired in part by the ancient ouroborus symbol (a snake eating its own tale) representing the cyclical pattern of nature, as well as the necessity of life living off othe
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Dec 22, 2011
Brad
rated it:
This book joins Atlas Shrugged as the only books I've ever had to put down.
I love mythology. The myths are not only grand examples of storytelling, but they also shed light on their civilizations' way of thinking. From the doomed-to-die Norse Gods to the plagiarist Romans simply renaming Greek Gods, the mythologies across the globe are fascinating on many levels. So a book that traces the similarities between all mythological cannons sounds like a stroke of genius. Too bad Freud's psy More...
I love mythology. The myths are not only grand examples of storytelling, but they also shed light on their civilizations' way of thinking. From the doomed-to-die Norse Gods to the plagiarist Romans simply renaming Greek Gods, the mythologies across the globe are fascinating on many levels. So a book that traces the similarities between all mythological cannons sounds like a stroke of genius. Too bad Freud's psy More...
Jul 03, 2011
Jake
rated it:
Dense book. Very Dense with information, but relatively easy to understand if you know a little bit about psychoanalysis (Thanks Psych 202!) and you enjoy myth stories and character development.
Started reading it as I'm an inspiring screenwriter (wow, haven't we heard that all), and I've heard of many successful screenwriters (George Lucas and The King's Speech's David Seidler as key examples) who have taken Campbell's "Hero's Journey" to heart in their work.
The " More...
Started reading it as I'm an inspiring screenwriter (wow, haven't we heard that all), and I've heard of many successful screenwriters (George Lucas and The King's Speech's David Seidler as key examples) who have taken Campbell's "Hero's Journey" to heart in their work.
The " More...
May 31, 2011
Chuck
rated it: 
The first half of this book and it's epilogue are excellent resources into understanding how the mythic narrative has psychological efficacy and therefore story power but the second half of the book seems as if Mr. Campbell forgot to explain his theory and instead simply chose to relate various world myths as illustration of his thesis. They read like an obsessive's fascination with granularity and the myths lack power due to an underdeveloped narrative context (a damning observance within an a
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Nov 07, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
"Moyers: Why did you call your book The Hero with a Thousand Faces?
Campbell: Because there is a cerain typical hero sequence of actions which can be detected in stories from all over the world and from many periods of history. Essentially, it might even be said there is but one archetypal mythic hero whos life has been replicated in many lands by many, many people. A legendary hero is usually the founder of something- the founder of a new age, the founder of a new religion, the founder More...
Campbell: Because there is a cerain typical hero sequence of actions which can be detected in stories from all over the world and from many periods of history. Essentially, it might even be said there is but one archetypal mythic hero whos life has been replicated in many lands by many, many people. A legendary hero is usually the founder of something- the founder of a new age, the founder of a new religion, the founder More...
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Sep 20, 2011
Dennis
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"The Hero With a Thousand Faces" is one of the greatest books I have ever read. It also serves a great reference guide for filmmakers, playwrights, and other writers. Originally it was for a class and we read only certain highlighted points in the book. After the course instead of selling it back I went ahead and read the whole book. It is a great book that analyzes all the steps a hero will take before he becomes that real hero. It is the foundation of most Hollywood films and most
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Sep 19, 2011
Laura
rated it:
This book blew my mind when I read it as a teenager. Reread it about 10 years. and not all of it has aged well, (got a lot of gender essentialism that made me roll my eyes) but it's still absolutely worth the time. Not only worth the time in itself, it's also fascinating seeing the impact its had on the way we tell stories, and to catch a glimpse of the story of the hero we keep telling. For better or for worse. So many movies and books are almost scene for scene patterned on it; everything
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Sep 26, 2009
David
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Campbell tells the universal story (the "monomyth") in this very interesting book. Looking through all world cultures and religions we find a very common story. It is no surprise this book was a great influence on George Lucas, for the story of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars possesses many traits of the monomyth (as does the story of Harry Potter and probably most epic movies if we think about it). I appreciate this book for its breadth as stories from all regions of the world are brou
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Jun 05, 2010
Kristopher
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This isn't an easy book to get through. Dense and complicated, I've read it twice and probably only understand half. That half though, is pretty damn fascinating.
I remember studying myths in school and how cut and dry the explanations were that myth x was what group y believed caused thunder or winter or whatever. It was always because they didn't know why things happened so they made up silly stories and certainly never bothered with the spiritual or psychological aspects of mythol More...
I remember studying myths in school and how cut and dry the explanations were that myth x was what group y believed caused thunder or winter or whatever. It was always because they didn't know why things happened so they made up silly stories and certainly never bothered with the spiritual or psychological aspects of mythol More...
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Jun 30, 2009
Daniel
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This book is simply genius. Not only was the content brilliant, but the writing was gorgeous. It's a non-fiction book, but some parts read like poetry.
Campbell masterfully integrates the study of myth with psychoanalysis, history, literature, and his own philosophy. In this book, he discusses the commonalities between myths, folktales, and religions to create a basic "formula" known as the Hero's Journey. His endeavor was grand, but he met the challenge brilliantly.
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Campbell masterfully integrates the study of myth with psychoanalysis, history, literature, and his own philosophy. In this book, he discusses the commonalities between myths, folktales, and religions to create a basic "formula" known as the Hero's Journey. His endeavor was grand, but he met the challenge brilliantly.
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Apr 21, 2011
Eveningstar2
rated it:
Campbell is the real deal. There is a reason Joseph Campbell is one of the very, very few academic intellectuals to achieve widespread recognition among popular readers, and this book is it.
Hero With A Thousand Faces is Campbell's exploration of the Hero's Journey, or the 'monomyth,' a broad, modular but clearly defined narrative pattern evident in the hero tales of every mythology, and therefore situated within the core of human storytelling tradition.
Campbell's style is den More...
Hero With A Thousand Faces is Campbell's exploration of the Hero's Journey, or the 'monomyth,' a broad, modular but clearly defined narrative pattern evident in the hero tales of every mythology, and therefore situated within the core of human storytelling tradition.
Campbell's style is den More...
Jul 14, 2011
Meg
rated it:
I'm not going to lie, it took me FOREVER to get through this book. It's so interesting, but kind of dry. Joseph Campbell presents so many different symbols, myths, interpretations, etc. that it was difficult for me to stay with him sometimes. His interpretations of the different variations on the culmination of the hero's journey towards the end of the book got a little redundant for me. I had to force myself to stick with it. The first few chapters where he broadly outlines the basis of the boo
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Sep 26, 2011
Naxa
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While I can understand this books historical significance and popularity. I on the whole found it a sluggish and badly formatted read. Granted it could of been my particular edition. On the other hand there were many times where I felt I would just enjoy reading the myths and stories he uses as examples of archetypes myself more, rather then as pieces of a momomythic puzzle. I also am not particularly fond of Carl Jung and his psychological methods.
I didn't like it much, but I'm not g More...
I didn't like it much, but I'm not g More...
Aug 17, 2011
Zelah
rated it:
I confess that I struggled to get through this book. I love myths, folk tales and fairy tales and have read every book of these that I could find in at least two libraries.
I also love writing and this was suggested to me as a useful book for a writer to read. However, I found the style the book was written in to be very heavy going. If I tried to just read it, the words didn't seem to make sense, it only worked if I tried to read it out loud in my head. I don't know why this wa More...
I also love writing and this was suggested to me as a useful book for a writer to read. However, I found the style the book was written in to be very heavy going. If I tried to just read it, the words didn't seem to make sense, it only worked if I tried to read it out loud in my head. I don't know why this wa More...
Jul 11, 2011
Stephanie
rated it:
[This book] was huge and dense and I sort of wish I'd been able to spend more time with it. Time to take notes and absorb what exactly it was positing here. I picked up a few bits and pieces, but I'm not sure of the "in general" idea of the book. The human psyche is connected and expresses itself through story? Okay, I get that. And that he's proving this with examples of myths from different cultures and how they follow the same journey. But I had a few qualms with some of the "u
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Feb 24, 2009
Anna
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Joseph Campbell spent the greater part of his life reading mythology voraciously. In this book Campbell suggests that the Arthurian legends and religious stories we grew up with are metaphors for the way life should be lived. If, in our own lives, we heed the "call to adventure," face the "dragon," and bring some of the "boon" of what we have learned back by teaching others, we become the heroes of our own existence.
It's hard to write about without sou More...
It's hard to write about without sou More...
Nov 16, 2011
Tine
rated it:
Thank you, Joseph Campbell. I am so glad this book exists - it was very cathartic after having my engine revved by "The Power of Myth", a transcripted interview of the author that casually and conversationally opens the ripe mind to the greater implications of all those charming stories it has absorbed since childhood.
I will attest to the increasingly spasmodic narration that sets in with the opening of Part II's curtains, which becomes almost comical in its deity-dropping (like More...
I will attest to the increasingly spasmodic narration that sets in with the opening of Part II's curtains, which becomes almost comical in its deity-dropping (like More...
