The Hero with a Thousand Faces (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell)

Campbell's examples are very difficult to get through but the brilliance of the parallels he draws can not be overlooked. As a first time writer it was very insightful and interesting. Good price too.

I have never had any interest in mythology, and I found this much beyond my comprehension, however, I stuck with it and now that I have reached the halfway mark in the book, I have found it to be increasing my curiosity. It is very well written and I am sure a student of mythology would find It spellbinding.

I'm a fan of Joseph Campbell's work and this led me to purchase this book. I didn't realise until doing so that it is one of his early works (written in the 1950's) and while the content is interesting enough, it reads like an old style text book.
Definitely not as reader friendly as his later series'. I found myself skimming quite frequently, so only 3 stars I'm afraid.

I'm a prolific author who prefers aphorisms and books of philosophy. I did not feel very compelled to read much of this book. It sits like a lump on my shelf. What little I read of it did not convince me that it conveyed any psychological knowledge as I hoped. I bought this book on a whim, and unfortunately I have not been able to put it to good uses. Originally I planned to quote the book, but now it seems hopeless. Maybe in the future. However, I can understand if certain types like the book, believing it a classic. More for those who like long, drawn-out narratives, which is not my style. Jung's Two Essays on Analytic Psychology should be preferred for technical, philosophical types, if we assume subject matter is less important than quality of writing. The book may be engrossing, but only if you have nothing better to read (or write!).

this edition from bollingen series its beautiful, nice letters, and has wonderful illustrations
if you want to read this book this probably be the best possible way...but this book its not really about storytelling or mythology and its power,its more about religion, and oriental faith than how to shape a character like the great character of the past; its much more about shiva than ulises...

I fell for all the rhetoric and bought this book after enjoying the "Myths and Monsters" series. I am struggling through it. Aside from the plagaristic references to almost every myth and religion ever invented the book is full of undocumented assertions as found in every sermon ever written. "This is so" because I say it it is so. Reminds me of a Certain Person's tweets. It is hard going. I can only read a page or two before I have to put it aside. I rarely fail to finish reading a book but in this case I may make an exception.

Purchased for a Mythology of the hero college course.

The writing is pompous and over done. He spends chapters on concepts that could have been said in one or two sentences.

Based strongly on the outdated material from Sigmund Freud, this book uses a lot of his concepts and theories that have been completely discredited. Yet the book hasnt been updated or edited for that.

This was often discussed in the classroom prior to class starting, so many other college students felt the same way.

If this is for personal knowledge, or enjoyment there are other books out there.

I got this book because many people mention that it is the way to learn how people tick. It has been mentioned that this can help with character development in writing.

I couldn't read it.

Maybe I am just not cerebral enough because I thought it was full or obscure references and difficult passages that lost me time and again. I could boil down what I got out of it, which is basically Freud's doctrine about how we all want to sleep with our mothers (or fathers).

There has to be something better out there than this.

If you don't enjoy Psychology / Mythology textbooks you won't like this.

I give it 3 stars because I didn't read the whole thing. Maybe all of the good stuff is after the first 100 pages...

Two people recommended this book to me within 3 days, so I thought it had to be great. I forced myself to read through one third of the book but couldn’t bear it any longer - dated psychoanalysis and random clips from all over the world to fit into one theory. One can always cherrypick a certain portion of any mythology to create any framework. It’s cerainly a fallacy. Better spend your time reading some actual mythology.

This book is unparalleled brilliance on the centrality and importance of myth for human life. Our lives are myth to their core - more real than the prosaic details of our existence - the grand narrative of our journey and the meaning of our manifestation.

I have a paper copy, and the Audible version but I am shocked that this is not available on Kindle. I love paper books, but Kindle versions are unique in their portability and the abilitity to highlight and make notes. The Hero With a Thousand Faces is a book suited to note taking, highlighting, and ready access, unlike almost any other. Bring this out on Kindle!

I personally did not enjoy reading this book as expected.
The book has too many protagonists and I found it difficult to make connections between the myths of various regions from around the world, as often attempted in this book.
The names of the protagonists are difficult to understand and because of this, you sort of loose interest in the story.
The stories are very often complicated and the moral teaching irrelevant.
This may be a great book for a person who studies mythology but not for me.

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 Campbell, and did his best to get his students to attend a lecture that Campbell was giving on campus (I believe the topic was Dracula). I never went (drat!), but I see from my disintegrating copy of the Bollingen edition of The Hero with a Thousand Faces that I bought it in December that year, which proves that Dr. Whitehead did eventually get through to me. Thank heavens he did.

I’ve read the book four or five times, and my copy is heavily highlighted. As I flip through it now I see it’s time to read it again. Oh boy!

Drawing on a knowledge of world mythology, religion, art, and symbolism that was already vast (the book was published in 1949, when Campbell was just 45), Campbell, choosing the word monomyth from Joyce’s Finnegans Wake as his master term, sets out to explicate the archetypal adventure of the hero. He shows how all hero stories follow the same basic template, that of the rite of passage: separation, initiation, and return. Campbell summarizes the template in one sentence of his prologue:

"A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."

Campbell goes on to illustrate this template with episodes from world mythology: Greek, Egyptian, Arabian, Indian, European, and many others, including the stories of the Buddha and Jesus. This latter point is important, for one of the great strengths of Campbell’s work is in how he shows that myth is the force behind those texts and rites that we regard as sacred, as well as the force driving our own individual psychology. For myth is not merely a matter of inventing stories for amusement; it is the structuring, organizing force by which we understand our world. Myth arises from the same mysterious source from which our dreams come; myth, indeed, is a kind of public dream.

Campbell’s writing is forceful, self-assured, and compendious. He writes with passion and with humor, and his prose is excellent. Well thought out, deeply researched, and concise, this work is the furthest thing imaginable from a dry, scholarly text. He manages to combine intellectual detachment with a sense of urgency and love of the topic.

In this book is laid the groundwork for Campbell’s future works, notably his Masks of God series, in which these themes are developed in greater depth. Here he introduces the idea that myth is not something “out there,” but rather the organizing principle of our lives both individually and collectively. By understanding it we can take hold of our own destiny and live more consciously, more spiritually, more adventurously. In a word, more fully.

Myth is everyone’s business, and this book reintroduces us to that part of ourselves which is most alive. We are heroes, each of us; let us not refuse the call to adventure when it arrives.

This is one of the most aggravating books I've ever read. The author's prose is unnecessarily scholarly to the point where I'm consulting a dictionary every few minutes. His sentences often span an entire paragraph, which makes it extremely difficult to follow / absorb. Overall, it's just not an enjoyable book to read.

This book is a mess structurally and stylistically. Structurally, there is no clear thesis statement, which made the book quite disorienting to read. Moreover, many of the quotations the scattered throughout the text do not seem logically relevant to the author's argument and rarely does Campbell even attempt to explain their relevance. Stylistically, the writing is pretentious and thus immediately off-putting. There's probably a lot of great substance to this book but the structural/stylistic shortcomings are really unbearable.

I'm a reader who enjoys challenging books, but this was probably the most painful reading experience of my adult life. It was like being in school and having to study something and being unable to understand what could possibly be interesting about it. The fault is not entirely the book’s. Some of the fault rest with the cult of readers who had me thinking that this was going to be something about archetypes in story, explaining some kind of pattern we see in every myth. I read this book while reading so many other books on writing and storytelling, but this one is NOTHING like any of those others. If you're reading authors like McKee, Field, Goldman, etc, and you think about picking this one up, consider yourself fairly warned.
However, much of the pain inflicted on me as the reader was the fault of Joseph Campbell himself, not my ill-informed expectations. Other the store reviewers make note of that fact that his examples from ancient myth often do not follow his theses, that is, when you can understand whatever the hell the thesis of each section is. There is a chapter title, there is a section heading, but what has any of this to do with anything he says afterward? Who knows?
And the examples are so excruciatingly dull, and they are plentiful. They are half the book.
Even without the offense of unrelated examples, Campbell’s writing suffers from a style akin to religious texts in that obfuscation seems to be the purpose. While most people know of this book's connection to the Jungian "collective unconscious," and whatever you think of Jung, I warn you not to expect to get much insight on that topic, rather you will get word- and name-dropping on psychological themes without ever demonstrating that these words actually have a meaning. At other times, he seems to be simply parroting the tenants of ancient religions, especially of the Eastern variety. Rest assured, when other reviewers refer to him as "smart," what they mean is that they don't understand him.
I hope I haven’t been too hard on this book, and I wonder if there is actually anything I will come away from it having learned. Doubt it. Mostly I just resent having put myself through it. But perhaps one day, if I become interested in the myths of the variety of ancient and primitive cultures of the world, and if I become more tolerant of Eastern pseudo-religious lingo babble, I may return to this book knowing what I’m getting into, and give it another chance.

'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' is one of Joseph Campbell’s best books. It contains much of the other books, but when it comes to presenting the material, this book really is well-edited. The headers are comprehensive and the book in its overall makeup addresses not only scholars but also a young and always-young audience as it has a significant contact with present-day reality.

We are now once again in the midst of a Hero Cult, and Campbell has to be credited with the merit to have shown the negative sides of this patriarchy-related phenomenon and its many undesirable consequences. Contrary to the proponents of the cult of hero modeling, Campbell makes it all clear that, by following this idea, you miss your soul entirely. In the meantime, he is not the only one who is saying that. We are going to see further down in the review of Care of the Soul (1994) by Thomas Moore, that there are more authors now being alert to warn us about the dangers of hero modeling, and perfectionism, as these are symptoms of both individual and cultural narcissism.

Campbell can be said to be in contradiction with the hero cult, while this may sound like a paradox. Well, the paradox finds its solution in the simple fact that Campbell, in accordance with the oldest of traditions, defines the hero in a different manner than current popular culture. While this may not be obvious on first sight, this and my other reviews of Campbell’s books will peel this truth out for everybody to see.

The answer is probably that to be a hero in today’s hero culture, you have to abnegate self, so as to bring about private victory and eventually public victory, to use popular terms. However, it has to be seen that the creator of these terms, Stephen R. Covey, was not advocating modeling. Other leadership trainers however do. In Covey’s definition of a leader, soul has certainly a firm and well-deserved place.

A responsible coach and leadership trainer cannot overlook the immense quantity of junk productions, especially popular video games, where the hero is depicted as an abusive type of totally masculine—and often equally totally brainless—type of persecutor, and ruthless killer. The film title ‘The Terminator’ also is an indicative for this kind of redefinition of the hero. But this kind of hero is the ‘false hero’ not the true hero as the old sagas and fairy tales have featured him. Joseph Campbell steps into that old tradition and explains and describes it with all his rich and mature vocabulary, and his vivid imagination.

In this book, he takes an archetype-based approach for presenting a wealth of material from mythology and the folk lore of olden times and of all times, a lore that defines the hero as a basic novelty, a unique brew of characteristics and a specific energy that brings forth its mark upon the world, whatever stands in the way, and thereby produces and changes culture. The archetypal journey of the hero is laid out in the chapter headings, Departure (I-1), Initiation (I-2), Return (I-3), Keys (I-4), Emanations (II-1), Virgin Birth (II-2), Transformations (II-3), Dissolutions (II-4).

Campbell defines the hero as a being in transformation, and thus open for change, flexibly intelligent, and ready to leave behind the old serpent skins. But what really distinguishes the hero from the ordinary man is that he follows but his star, to paraphrase Dante, and that he models only his or her own self, yet by doing so, and here is the other paradox, sets the personal mission on the public stage and makes out of it what the Romans called res publica.

Thus, the hero is defined by the fact of overcoming not only personal limitations but also selfish orientation, having set the stage for a transpersonal outcome of his or her particular mission. To bring about transpersonal realization, not abnegation of self is needed, but affirmation of self, not ‘victory’ over selfish needs, but listening to these needs through a constant focus inside and an open ear for our inner child, the main creative energy in us.

Campbell puts the rebirth of the hero in our focus, which others call second birth and which aligns us with our spiritual family, and often alienates us from the blood family, the pedigree, the illusion of ‘home sweet home’, and the eternal co-dependence of the nuclear family that smashes the child’s striving for autonomy and self-reliance by manipulating children’s emotional life in the name of ‘the child’s own best.’

In 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces', Campbell puts a particular stress on using introversion and introspection as tools for gaining self-knowledge and strength, the unique force that animates the hero, his creative energy.

Campbell sees the uniqueness and the power of the hero not only in specific talents, personal strength, or a certain alignment with universal laws, but also in the release of a specific energy that, using cross-cultural insights and comparisons, he identifies as the cosmic life force that animates all sentient beings. The human paradox is that the specific realization of spiritual energy is brought about not by abnegation of self and focus on ideals, but in the contrary through a deliberate and long-term focus on one’s own unique energy. This energy, again paradoxically, strongest is visible not in our good deeds, but in our bad ones, which are those attributed to our shadow. It is our shadow, our inner daimon as Socrates called it, that most originally expresses the essence of our being, and it’s by dialoguing with this instance, and not by repressing it, that we realize our full spiritual nature.

And saying this, I am in alignment with the writings of Hermes Trismegistos and the Eleusinian mysteries.

Campbell’s message is important for understanding what the true hero is and what the false hero is, and as a consequence to eventually see that what is thriving today in popular culture is not heroism, but false heroism. It is not by striving to be superhuman but by accepting to being only human that we become fully human.

Thus, it’s by accepting our simple yet so wonderfully colorful humanity that we realize the spiritual man and woman in us. For this to happen, we have to focus on our inner world, not on outer sense-givers. And most importantly we have to avoid those who come with instant concepts for self-realization and their endless quick fixes. The soul abhors quick fixes, and instant solutions, and it prefers the convoluted and slow liberation from our inner maze.

Most of the authors with whom I work end up with me telling them they should read this book. Granted, the last time I read Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces had been when I was in my late teens, so I figured now was a good a time as any to reacquaint myself with his work.

At the heart of all myths and legends, if I were to summarise Campbell’s book, lies one story, otherwise know as the Monomyth. In its most popular form, you’ll see it in episodes IV to VI of Star Wars – George Lucas was heavily influenced by Campbell.

It matters not which culture you look at, be it North American Hopi, ancient Celt, Greek, Hindu or Christian, for that matter, there are common elements present that speak to us profoundly.

This hero’s journey affects us on many levels, be it as a symbol of man’s (or woman’s) transformative journey and personal alchemy, or as in the case that I offer my authors – as a template of what makes for compelling storytelling.

This is a book that deserves a permanent place on any author’s storyteller’s shelf.

Campbell writes with warmth, great love and enthusiasm for his subject matter, drawing correspondences between different cultures with great ease and in a way that may forever alter how you perceive the stories, myths and legends that exist throughout the ages.

This is also the sort of book that you can return to time and again, in order to gain a fresh perspective to inspire you. You’ll gain an understanding that the stories that span ages and culture are timeless, and recur constantly in different guises. And I suspect that when I pick up this book in the future, I’ll find new messages that resonate with me.

I have been hearing about Joseph Campbell, and this book in particular, for many years now. The first significant exposure I had to his ideas was via Jonah Sachs ["Winning the Story Wars"]. I listened to and enjoyed his interviews with Bill Moyers.

I was discussing this book with Bill Plotkin ["Nature and the Human Soul"], and the first thing that came up was the blatant racism and sexism in the book. Published in 1949, it's an archaic text in many ways.

Looking beyond that, I like his meta-arc of the Hero's Journey:

Departure
1. The Call to Adventure
2. Refusal of the Call
3. Supernatural Aid
4. The Crossing of the First Threshold
5. The Belly of the Whale

Initiation
1. The Road of Trials
2. The Meeting with the Goddess
3. Woman as the Temptress
4. Atonement with the Father
5. Apotheosis
6. The Ultimate Boon

Return
1. Refusal of the Return
2. The Magic Flight
3. Rescue from Without
4. The Crossing of the Return Threshold
5. Master of the Two Worlds
6. Freedom to Live

But I don't find the structure of the book helpful in elucidating this journey. Most of the book explores this arc via a myriad of myths from a variety of cultures. And yet they are so numerous, that I found myself getting lost in the haze. I would have much preferred this arc to be outlined in an introduction, and then cover stories in their entirety, looking at the entire map in action.

Certainly, the big ideas of the book are wonderful and important, but there are likely better ways to access such material these days.

This is one of the most essential books on my bookshelf. Whenever I teach theater or writing, I refer to this book, and to Campbell's principles of the commonality of narrative structure throughout the myth and religious stories -- cross-cultural, and cross-age.

Read this book over years. Keep it handy. Get a copy for anyone who's up for a deep read, especially those interested in comparitive religions and myths... and writers who want to know more about narrative structure.

forever,
Annie

Annie Lanzillotto
author of "L is for Lion: an italian bronx butch freedom memoir" SUNY Press
and "Schistsong" BORDIGHERA Press

www.annielanzillotto.com

L Is for Lion: An Italian Bronx Butch Freedom Memoir (SUNY series in Italian/American Culture)
Schistsong (Via Folios)
Blue Pill
Carry My Coffee (Live)
Eleven Recitations

Perhaps the greatest validation I could afford this book is its applicability to my own life.

I read parts of this book when I was younger. It was somewhat interesting then in a very abstract way of "Oh, look at how all the stories are similar. Cool."

Since that time, however, having nothing to do with Campbell, I have followed my highest intuitive guidance (or, my bliss, as Campbell would say) through hell and high water. I have reached the depths of despair and the heights of ecstasy. Confused why my life was so miserable all the while the mystical forces guiding me were more prevalent than ever, I was struck by the notion that I was being stripped of my ego.

A few days later I was in a bookstore and, without any thought of a connection, began flipping through this book. I could not copy passages fast enough. I was reading - in Campbell's writing and in the ancient stories throughout time - the experience through which I have been traveling.

In following my highest intuitive guidance (aka bliss), I have inadvertently lived the hero's journey: removed from the comforts of my life, put through tests where the realm between the physical and the metaphysical shattered with forces helpful and hurtful engaging almost simultaneously, been stripped of my ego, been given vast insights to help save our civilization, and am now reaching the phase of return.

Whatever the critiques of this book are with regard to outdated psychological theories and science, this book reveals the ancient wisdoms of humanity available to all if they all simply follow their bliss. Those who critique it on technicalities have simply not experienced the transcendence necessary to read this book and the stories of history as an inadvertent autobiography.

Perhaps most compelling about this book is I have to remind myself it was written in 1949. The language and style are so timeless.

For those burdened by the many stories and complexities within, I would suggest that there are two ways of reading this book:

1. Academically, whereby you study the stories and their relation to the overall theme.

2. Stylistically, whereby you skim through the stories and focus on Campbell's analytical writing. In just doing that, you will be able to find the main thrust of the journey's key points without getting lost in how ancient cultures understood this same journey for themselves.

First of all, I feel inadequate and unworthy to review this book, but since the store has given me 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 this book's greatness lies in the eternal truths that transcend Campbell's individual personality. He just managed to tap into them- thank God.

The entire book deals with the hero's journey. This is the Monomyth shared by all cultures- and indeed seems to be a direct inspiration from the cosmos itself by way of the collective unconscious. Here we have the eternal cycle of 1) the call to adventure; 2) the crossing of the threshold; 3) the tests, trials, and helpers; 4) the sacred marriage, apotheosis (becoming one with god), or elixir theft; 5)the flight 6) recrossing/ressurection; and 7) the return to society with hard won gifts. He examines all of these elements in depth with a wealth of cross-cultural examples. The first half of the book deals with this cycle on a more individual and personal level (the microcosm), while the second half deals with the greater cosmogonic importance (the macrocosm.)

Now, the really amazing part of all this is that virtually all of it comes across as meaningful, interesting, and totally nonacademic. That's why academic types hate Campbell, and his mentor Jung,- they know that Campbell's and Jung's works will endure and be read a thousand years from now, while their own monographs will be justly forgotten. There are a lot of mediocre Ph.D's out there that can never forget that Campbell never bothered to get a doctorate, because he considered such degrees to be a worthless and meaningless waste of time....

That's not just my personal opinion. This book was rated among the most important of the 20th century by a group of experts, and for good reason. It's hard to find a screenwriter or movie making company that does not follow Campbell's model for the hero's journey. Campbell took what had been also described as the monomyth-- the universal story, told with the same basic pattern, by every culture, about the journey of the hero.

This monomyth is a profoundly powerful description of the process of growth, of achieving a higher level of consciousness, of being reborn as a new, stronger person.

It is a natural for moviemaking and has had several books written specifically focusing on using the concept to craft powerful stories with characters with depth. It is also used to help people and therapists conceptualize the process of going into therapy and healing, finding a new job, new relationships, new activism.

Ultimately, the hero's journey is a call to wake up and become a new person-- by making a choice, then developing new skills and resources, using them to face inner and outer challenges, then bringing back the "magic elixir" the final change, to the ordinary world you came from, to heal that world.

You can also consider the hero's journey to be a roadmap that explains the stages in the process of-- the journey of-- personal change-- a map that gives insight and understanding that can be invaluable.

The hero's journey goes through stages, which I'm abbreviating. Some of the stages include, with my own interpretation:
-ordinary world
-call to adventure
-rejection of the call
-facing threshold guardians
-meeting the mentor
-crossing the threshold
-going underground or in the water-- symbolically
-starting on the road in the new world
-acquiring new skills and allies
-facing and battling antagonists
-meeting with the goddess
-at-one-ment with the father
-apotheosis
-journey to the inmost cave-- almost dying, fighting the greatest antagonist
-Final successful confrontation
-road home
-straddling both worlds successfully

At the end, the hero can successfully live in both worlds.

Whole books have been written on just one stage in hero's journey. One of the best is Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life by Greg LeVoy.

And George Lucas used the Hero's Journey in his Star Wars movies, even getting to know Campbell.

This is a concept that you can apply to your life, whenever you face or desire to make change. Or use it for your writing for your stories or even for organizational change.

I've given lectures on it for groups interested in writing, for doctors who use it to conceptualize the treatment of patients, I've used it with individual clients, and for groups who are interested in personal growth.

The book is not a quick, easy read. It's one of a very few that I've read more than once. Consider it like a favorite nature site you love to visit. Return to it and you will discover new visions and ideas you missed before and previously seen ideas that you will see with new eyes, new perspectives.

Reading the book can be, just by itself, a hero's journey, since it will wake you up. Of course, you can refuse the call. When you refuse the call, by the way, very often, the call comes back to get you, more persuasively. Remember Obie Wan Kenober? He asks Luks Skywalker nicely to join him to rescue princess Leah. Luke rejects the call. The next day, the aunt and uncle he lives with have been murdered by Darth Vader. Like I said, the "call" comes back to get you more persuasively.

If you want to get an easier read of the concepts in this book, try the The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, 3rd Edition by Chris Vogler. Another excellent book that builds upon Campbell's concepts and Karl Jung's is James Bonnet's Stealing Fire from the Gods: The Complete Guide to Story for Writers and Filmmakers (2nd Edition).

Wow. Now that I've read this book I can't believe that I'd never heard of Joseph Campbell before. I started this book slowly, taking in the general idea and getting the point Campbell is making: all myths, religions, epic tales, etc. follow the same basic over-arching pattern. The pattern is plotted out in extreme detail in the book, so I won't go into it here, but it is spot on.

Anyone who has any interest in religion, philosophy, psychology, or the human condition needs to read this book. ALthough it starts out a bit slow and self-evident, by the end you realize that you are reading a book written by a true master teacher. Campbell's clearcut objective explanations are superb and unarguably true. Using examples from the Bible, the Iliad, the Koran, native American folklore, Hindu tales, fairy tales, Eskimo tales, Chinese legends, African tribal rituals, and too many more cultural tales to mention, Joseph Campbell definitively lays out the monomyth and its structure.

The beauty of Campbell's writing is how it sneaks up on you. I was following the general theme of the book and feeling as if I was learning something until around the middle of the book it all clicked. This book is not just about myth, philosophy, or religion, it is about mankind's constant struggle to nail down and explain the human condition. What troubles us is that we can't ever do it.

For this reason, in every culture, there is always a hero story. A hero story that describes the life and adventures and discoveries of one man who broke through the confusing walls of this world we live in and became truly enlightened. What makes this book so perfect, though, is the painstaking detail with which Campbell recounts different parts of different myths, religious tales, legends, and folklore to illustrate the "monomyth" that all these stories are telling.

Be sure to also read the footnotes, as valuable information and references to other interesting novels are often found there as well.

_First of all, I feel inadequate and unworthy to review this book, but since the store has given me 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 this book's greatness lies in the eternal truths that transcend Campbell's individual personality. He just managed to tap into them- thank God.

_The entire work deals with the hero's journey. This is the Monomyth shared by all cultures- and indeed seems to be a direct inspiration from the cosmos itself by way of the collective unconscious. Here we have the eternal cycle of 1) the call to adventure; 2) the crossing of the threshold; 3) the tests, trials, and helpers; 4) the sacred marriage, apotheosis (becoming one with god), or elixir theft; 5)the flight 6) recrossing/ressurection; and 7) the return to society with hard won gifts. He examines all of these elements in depth with a wealth of cross-cultural examples. The first half of the book deals with this cycle on a more individual and personal level (the microcosm), while the second half deals with the greater cosmogonic importance (the macrocosm.)

_Now, the really amazing part of all this is that virtually all of it comes across as meaningful, interesting, and totally nonacademic. That's why many academic types hate Campbell, and his mentor Jung,- they know that Campbell's and Jung's works will endure and be read a thousand years from now, while their own monographs will be justly forgotten. There are a lot of mediocre Ph.D's out there that can never forget that Campbell never bothered to get a doctorate, because he considered such degrees to be a worthless and meaningless waste of time....

This significance and status attributed to this book are completely justified. This might just be the most important book I have ever read, and if not then it must be somewhere in the top 3. This is the kind of thing that you read, and then you find yourself compelled to tell every important person in your life that this amazing thing happened to you: you read Campbell's masterpiece and it has clarified so much about people and the world. You buy extra copies for your best friends - because it would be wrong not to share with them, but you can't loan your copy because you would be impatient to get it back on your shelf.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces launched Campbell's career. It has everything we expect in a work by Campbell: Scholarship, profundity, and mirth. A "weakness" of the book is its overly academic style, characteristic of Campbell's early career before he had made a name for himself. On the other hand, the book is well-crafted, satisfying, and never drags.

Campbell teaches that heroes evolve as cultures evolve. Heroes depart for adventure, willingly or unwillingly, summoned or unsummoned. Often there are messengers sent to arouse the heroes (the old milkwoman in Joyce's Ulysses, Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, Athene in Homer's Odyssey, Phillipe in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, the White Rabbit in Alice's Adventures, Obi-Wan in Lucas' Star Wars, etc). Then, there is a barrier of guardians between the everyday world whose knowledges and perceptions the hero has assimilated, and the foreign world of unknown adventures. Successful passage gives entree to the mythic realm of "the Soul's high adventure". Perhaps there will be a "descent into the dark" in which the hero is cut to pieces (to be later resurrected); otherwise he will emerge transformed and renewed. Then, completing his quest, the hero returns to guide and help others.

A definite must-read for anyone interested in mythic heroic themes, the book's signal strength is it blurs the mind's eye to the distinctions between mythology, religion, and philosophy. And this is perhaps the main thrust of Campbell's work - to create compassion for all the spiritual traditions of mankind. This compassionate insight Campbell calls Ariadne's thread, which permits us to escape from the chthonic, claustrophobic labyrinth of dead men's thoughts and traditions to emerge breathing clean, cold, divine mountain air. Whether or not you approve of this approach, it is useful to be aware of and certainly fosters tolerance. That said, in terms of theology, it reeks: Campbell will tell you straight to your face God never spoke to anyone.

Bad theology aside, Campbell's work is wonderful and a great gift to us all, providing an understanding of the common mythic inheritance we all share.

This book is a cross cultural synthesis of the inward and outward journey of the hero couched in the visceral language of metaphor. The ideas that the metaphors convey seem so profoundly fundamental to what humans are striving for on this earth that they not only serve as guides and impetus to action within a life but also might provide a similar purpose and perspective in how to think about other social and biological sciences well beyond the individual - e.g. what a psychology of religion might look like and the possibility of neurology as a holy grail (google scholar it), why floor traders in financial markets testosterone levels fluctuate with their abilities to discount volatility, structures that all civilized societies have within them, how to interpret symbolism in works of art, etc to name a few.

As if the profound importance of the topics and the intellectual fireworks in this book were not enough, the writing of this book is so lyrical and beautiful that I've found myself retyping quotes from this book and realizing that I am copying 60% of one page, 10% of the next, 30% of the page after that, and it keeps going like that until the end (!) I've come to cherish this book the way entire cultures cherish their mythologies.

Joseph Campbell was undoubtedly one of the most influential mythologists of the twentieth century. This, his crowning achievement, celebrates the nature of myth, and in particular the nature of the mythological hero. Drawing from sources all over the globe, from primitive stories to complex pantheistic mythologies, and including many religions still extant today, such as Christianity and Buddhism, Campbell explains the archetypal elements of the hero myth, the different forms of the heroic quest, and the purpose of the hero's life work.

Campbell's work is important because of its attempt to resurrect myth--in other words, to restore its credibility in a technological society where science rules all--and to show the important function which myth can play, even in a society as complex as ours. He argues that "whenever the poetry of myth is interpreted as biography, history, or science, it is killed" (in Chapter IV of part one, "the keys"). In other words, myth should not be viewed literally, but rather allegorically for the lesson it can teach. Furthermore, Campbell argues that truth manifests itself in many different forms, ranging from a simple fairy-tale to a complex Egyptian ritual. For Campbell, the purpose of myth is to rise above the limits set by science and reasoning, and to provide mankind with a metaphysical form of fulfillment not attainable through modern technology.

Campbell's analysis of the various parts of the hero myth is very enlightening. There are shortcomings, of course (as there necessarily must be), and the archetypes he defines are not universal in nature. Still, he does a remarkable job of showing how myths from all parts of the globe often create essentially the same hero, albeit in different forms and with different attributes dependent on local customs. My only complaint with this book is that I believe Campbell takes the parallels of psychoanalysis and myth too far, especially in Part One of the book. His argument is made good by the many examples of similar myths from distinct parts of the globe, and the use of modern dreams as examples does only little to strengthen this hypothesis.

I believe this work is a necessary part of any study of mythology. It may be dated, true, but that does not entirely discredit it as a strong analysis of the universal hero. I certainly do not regard this work as authoritative on the subject of myth, but I do think Campbell's argument is one worth considering.

How do stories work in the human mind. Deep question, right? Yes it is. And no one answers it better than Joseph Campbell in Hero with a Thousand Faces. Want to know the real secret to Hollywood films? Read Campbell. That's what George Lucas did, and he credits Campbell with giving him the understanding to create Star Wars. Believe it or not, all great stories throughout history have a similar structure and work on the human psyche in a similar way--whether your hero is a space pirate or a female firefighter, you will find the keys to telling that story--and the keys to every story ever told--by reading Campbell's preeminent work.

I have read this book many times over the last 20 years years, and recently bought the audible version. I highly recommend this! The narrator is excellent, and there are a couple of master storytellers who read much of the world's myth and story content (which Campbell spreads throughout the book). The audible version truly brings Campbell's master work alive in a new way, and I can't recommend it enough. What a delight it is to take out my iPhone, put in my headphones, and have the great Joseph Campbell and his storytellers take me away into the enchanted realms of myth.

In this 1948 classic mythicist Joseph Campbell not only laid out a template for mythology but also the main elements for George Lucas' Star Wars tale.

Those familiar with Campbell only through his PBS interviews would do well to read this book because in it Campbell uses not only piercing analysis but also poetic imagery to convey his ideas.

Though this book is replete such imagery perhaps one of my favorite ones was observations as to when the hero becomes tyrant. For his part George Lucas illustrated this beautifully with his Darth Vadar character who started out both good and brave, only later to succumb to his own weaknesses.

For those who wish to make connections away from this work to other research in the same area I would suggest the works of Vladamir Propp for mythic studies, in terms of modern neuroscience I would also suggest the works of Pascal Boyer (including his Religion Explained), for the mathemtical rudiments of ultruistic behavior I would suggest The Evolution of Ultruism by Robert Axelrod and for the genetics of all this I would also suggest pretty much anything by Richard Dawkins.

Just as evolution molded our morphology it also changed our behavior. No matter how excited we may be about the contributions of any one author, it's always good to be able to look at the issues that author raises from the benefit of what other fields and other authors have to say.

This book, said to be Campbell's finest work, is dense in both its ideas and in its prose. At times, the density of the prose (actually a bit too syrupy for my taste) seems to overpower the ideas. However, despite this minor stylistic discomfort, this is clearly a classic that provides much of the raw materials only alluded to in so many of the other pieces covering the same substance. In this pantheon of myths, gods and heroes, spanning the universe of civilized man, we can see clearly the pattern that is the central entrée on Campbell's menu:

The theme of the book is that myths, those spontaneous productions "welling up" from the deepest recesses of the mind, are wellsprings of cultural development. The myths, gods, deeds, and especially the exploits of the heroes of man's myths, from time immemorial have been the leitmotif of civilized development. It is a theme that is ubiquitous in the psychological, philosophical, and the anthropological literature -- from Freud and his disciples (and especially Jung, Bettleheim, Becker and Otto Rank), to Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, and on to Clifford Geertz.

What Campbell has discovered is that myths are a grand psychological archetype and that the known psychological world is pretty much a familiar tableau, pretty much as Freud has described it in "Man and his Discontents": Myths, gods and tales, ultimately are about fears arising as they do out of our collective unconscious. They are designed to play an organizing and ordering role in shaping a safer reality, a safer civilization and most of all safer worldviews.

If we think about it, reality is just the palatable residue of our unconscious, which with great skill we have carefully reframed so that it is disguised as ego-relevance. We are all heavily invested in this global self-constructed piece of collective denial and self-deception. We proceed to "people" it with heroes in the guise of gods and other inhuman creatures. And we have learned to live through these props vicariously. We have learned to substitute their bravery and heroics and their exploits for our own lack of same. However, upon closer inspection, no one should be surprised to discover that there are uncanny recurring patterns that have not changed over the history of man's existence. The themes, the tales, and the forms that the heroes take, keep repeating themselves, perhaps because they all are part of the same schemata of cultural self-deception.

As we can infer by wading through Campbell's dense prose with some difficulty, the real power behind our existence are the unacknowledged thoughts that live within the far recesses of our unconscious, hidden and repressed beneath seemingly innocent everyday activities. Myths, legends and dramas of heroism, make up the basic freeway on the substrate to expressing and bringing into consciousness these frightening subterranean ideas. They allow us to do so in more or less acceptable and respectable ways. They save us from ourselves, by making the terror we refuse to face consciously, bearable and manageable. As Campbell puts it, they help us across the threshold of transformations that seek to change the patterns of our thought. In short, myths are part of the ritual for turning the scariness beneath consciousness, into something "artificially" heroic above it.

Since time immemorial, the forms such transformations have taken have been those of birth, overcoming adversity, death, and resurrection. In order to overcome the crisis of entering the state of higher spiritual dimension, to reach the ultimate state of renewal, the state of resurrection, we need a period of " detachment," and "transfiguration." This transfiguration is from the external to the internal, from the macro to the micro, in effect a retreat back to the womb, to the state and serenity of infantile unconsciousness. Bruno Bettleheim has referred to this process as "going from the tomb of the womb to the womb of the tomb."

Thus Campbell tells us that we carry within us the solution to all our problems (to use Carl Rogers' term) of "lacking the courage to be." Bravery requires facing the world without the umbilical cord being a permanent lifetime tether. Yet, most of us prefer to hide in the warmth and the glow of tribal routines. Lacking the courage to see, or to be, has become a signature part of contemporary human expectations.

Myths and their self-reflective heroes are nothing but adult fairy tales designed to ward-off our fears. In symbolic form, they represent the psychological triumphs we lack the courage to claim in real life. All of our heroes, as is true of our gods, are woven from the fabric of human fears and virtues. They are in fact our attempts to use human fears and virtues as a way of transcending those very same fears and virtues. But clearly the logic of using our fears and virtues to transcend themselves, is closed, and circular, and it thus cannot be done. No matter how much we imbue our heroes and our gods with superhuman qualities, powers, bravery and virtues, in the end we know that they are only the products of our own myth-making abilities. That is to say, they are just the best reflections that we can imagine about ourselves.

One thing we can all be sure of is that they are our creations, and not the other way around.

What then is the Hero of a thousand faces really about?

I firmly believe, as Ernest Becker does, that our collective neuro-psychosis is about the "mother of all our fears." To use Richard Pryor's phrase: "It is about passing the ultimate test: Can you survive death? So far as we know, no one has yet passed the ultimate test. "

That's the ultimate test, and the ultimate fear. Campbell's book thus is about our never-ending quest to overcome the fear of death. Hero-creation, like hero-worship is another immortality project, another slick attempt to escape the clutches of the grim reaper, our fear of our own lack of immortality.

Deeply thought-provoking and thorough.

Five stars.

Much has been said about Joseph Campbell and much praise has been accorded to him, all very much deserved. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in mythology, psychology, sociology or multi-cultural studies.
When a friend gave me this book, I was a freshman in college - studying business and intent on a career with computers and technology. For me, reading this book was like being taken aloft in a airplane - my head was soon spinning with enormous vistas of thoughts and imaginings of which I had only dimly been aware. And at the same time, with almost each page that I read, a resounding "Yes!" arose from the depths of my being - confirming in my mind thoughts who's edges I had only brushed up against.
I couldn't put the book down.
This book changed the direction of my life (I ended up graduating in psychology), and the direction of my thoughts. I wore out the paperback. Now, 15 years later, I still return periodically to the book and re-read it, and find new depths to plumb. James Hillman says that books can be initiators into the spiritual realm. This was the book that brought me in.

This work is Campbell's most famous and has been the source most quoted as being the inspiration for "The Hero's Journey" as outlined in many Hollywood screenplays. Most notably George Lucas' Star Wars Saga. While many may find the work to be more scholarly in its approach and not as easily accessable as some of the books written about Campbell's ideas, it is a necessary part of the student of mythology's library. Some may find it easier to get acquainted with the teacher's work through other volumes of his collected works, and The Hero with a Thousand Faces may be an easier read after one is already abreast of Campbell's modus operendi. A casual reader may find that the scholar's approach to be a bit hard to get through, although this only serves to prove the point that Campbell's scope of knowledge and research was vast. And yet this is an essential component to illustrating his theme, in that it ties all the disparate cultures under one mythic banner. Campbell found that all the heroes in all cultures, despite what costumes they wore, or weapons they carried, all followed one hero thread that cut across all cultures and nationalities. His work serves to remind the tellers of tales that despite all that makes us different, we are all the same in the most important way. We are all human. To students of mythology this is a must read!

As a devoted fan of the great Joseph Campbell, I was excited to add this audio CD to my travel audio collection. While I will keep the collection for a subsequent journey, a refresher of sorts, the audio version is no substitute for the printed mastery of Campbell's work.
I thought this guide to the mythical path of the hero would be an ideal accompaniment to the actual paths of freeway over the course of my roadtrip, but was disappointed in the audio version. The reading was hurried, to the point of me repeatedly checking if I had missed a "speed" setting.
Campbell presents a number of brilliant insights while using actual myths and legends from cultures around the world as examples. So many times, I felt rushed in considering a concept or even in organizing the distinct bullet-point criteria of the heroic journey.
In my opinion, Blum's pace does not do the material justice. So many of Campbell's examples, from different cultures and traditions, require taking a moment to virtually journey into the scenes of the mythical tale. Like the brilliant storyteller that he is, Campbell's writing brings the reader into that world, then enchants with the rhythms of the legend. To me, the rhythm of the writing gets lost in the reading.
A required challenge that makes this work difficult in any audio version is the variety of unfamiliar names and pronunciations that are necessary in descriptions of heroic tales from other tribes, languages and cultures. This factor alone would complicate any audio version of this type of anthology; however, there are employable methods to simplify or clarify the different characters to create a better organized audio image. I have traveled extensively and lived on six continents among a variety of tribes with difficult pronunciations -- I can easily imagine the extreme difficulty for someone only familiar with English names.
Like any good bedtime story reader knows, sometimes it takes a little effort to create a mental picture of a remote tale. Specifically, two simple recommendations would have improved these stories greatly: 1. SLOW DOWN, and 2. USE DIFFERENT VOICE TONES OR ACCENTS TO DISTINGUISH CHARACTERS.
1. Slow down - seems obvious, yet in several instances, there is little pause to help the listener structure the separate identities. At times, the main characters have similar sounding names (to the external audience, anyway). Imagine, for example, someone recounting the nuances of the nursery rhyme of "Jack" and "Jill" to an audience of local villagers in Thailand. Without even knowing the genders of each character by its spelling, a lot more effort is required to create the mental image of the allusion.
2. Vary Accent/Cadence - I can only recall one clear example of Blum assuming a noticeable accent among all the opportunities, and it was a butchered Irish accent for an ancient Irish myth. Unfortunately, it wasn't utilized as a way to distinguish characters, but rather as a way to make the entire tale "feel" Irish. While I believe the accent was poor in accuracy, at least its attempt allowed me to plunge into the tale fully.
In summary, I found the audio version a poor replacement for the written piece. I often found that the audio version required two or even three listening attempts to let the message sink in, but in the end, I felt like I gained from the experience. Use the audio version as a companion to your Joseph Campbell collection or a refresher. Listen to a chapter and discuss with others in the car. Listen, pause, repeat!

This classic provides the universal model for the hero, the monomyth. Yes, the hero has a thousand faces. Hundreds of millions to be more accurate. As the author explains with loving patience and detail, the heroes journey cuts across every cultural and geographical divide.It waits inside of each one of us, to blossom.
Sometimes the adventure begins with a mistake. For others, it can be a layoff and divorce. Or an illness. Something that breaks apart the habits and routines of daily life. We look for ways to distract ourselves, to delay. But in time, something happens to bring together the cosmic forces with just the right combination and moment, to create a cathartic event. Once the threshold is crossed there is no going back. There is only descent and struggle, and struggle again. Until, we face the dragon of our greatest fear, or perhaps the goddess of the world. Then, it's time to return. Until the next coming of age cycle appears. Assuming that we're lucky enough to live through the first one. And with these increasing life spans, why not take a second chance for another experience through the keyhole.
I find it fascinating that this book was first published in 1949. Just reread the Princeton paperback edition. It is truly one of a kind.

Ok, this is the big one! Joseph Campbell's "The Hero With A Thousand Faces" is a revolution in the field of Anthropology of Religion. His lucid study of Mythology has literally changed the way the world views ITSELF. Ok I'm sorry I don't want to overstate things, but I don't think I am. If you read this book and actually understand what he is saying you wont be the same.

Campbell has found the creative archtypes found throughout history in the mythologies of all cultures. There is an excellent blend of classical psychology as well as Occidental and Oriental Mythology references.

If you have never read Joseph Campbell and you love Mythology BUY THIS BOOK! Buy the POWER OF MYTH and watch the video with Bill Moyers.

Joseph Campbell is the best.

Reading Joseph Campbell books is like.... First you walk out into a clear desert night, a cloudless sky above, and you see many stars. There are the patterns of stars described by the zodiac signs, but those patterns are haphazard, jerky, and "not real." Those are the patterns people strain to create from apparent chaos because they do not have the tools to see deeper into space. They do not have the tools to see the Real patterns. But there are those people who do have the tools, and one such implement is the telescope. The better the telescope, and the more you learn where to look, the better you see the patterns. You see entire galaxies, binary stars, and those exploding. There are black holes. Life and death throughout the universe, and there are repeated themes everywhere you look. Only the details change. You may not understand the archetypical galaxies, or how they dance together in some great symphony that physicists are forever struggling to describe, but the fact that there ARE patterns is obvious. The rules apparently don't change, just the details in how they are expressed. This is nothing new, and it is certainly not a revelation that patterns occur, too, within us. Perhaps myths are like internal galaxies, swirling about within us by certain rules, and then there is "that uncertainty thing" that we hope might translate into free will. Well, this review seems a bit galactic itself, and perhaps a bit out there, but Joseph Campbell, with this book, has provided a telescope that points to certain galaxies within each person and population, galaxies which reverberate throughout humankind past, present, and future. And though Campbell helps us see these galaxies, there obviously remains much to be explained. One of the interesting things about the act of peering through a telescope is in knowing that other people have looked, or will look, through the same apparatus. Will they see what you see? How will others interpret messages delivered by photons that zip through space into their curious eyes? Recently I read a book called "Danger Close" by Mike Yon. It is the true story of an American soldier who was charged with murder in Maryland. Throughout the book I noticed themes, patterns and so forth. At times it seemed as though the author were winking at a small (a very small) section of the readership. The author seemed to allude to Joseph Campbell and his discoveries. In the final hilarious chapter of Danger Close, the future soldier, then a teenager in a Florida high school uttered, "sat chit ananda" to his raging school principal. And that was when I knew the author had studied his art beyond the writing of a single true sentence; he said so clearly to those few who could read the signs. The author had peered through the telescope created by Joseph Campbell, had seen the galaxies swirling, and had applied the principles of Creative Mythology to a true story, and perhaps that is why "Danger Close" is categorized as "creative nonfiction." The book, or rather the author, even won the very prestigious William A. Gurley award for application of scholarship. I have also noticed that a certain lawyer, a man who wins his cases without fail, sub fuses mythology in his winning arguments. The lawyer uses symbolism and the structure of myth tirelessly, presenting contemporary cases as if they were epic drama. Some of these stories, when presented to juries, have returned verdicts worth tens of millions of dollars. THAT is an example of the power of "applied myth." "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" is a "must read," a part of the training, for any serious writer, artist, or anyone who wishes to reach people on a basic level, or to better understand some of the powerful galaxies swirling within us.

After a lot of mythology studying I finally managed to read up on this book although I have been aware of it for a long time but never managed to get hold of it, by then I already knew enough so it was not a revelation. The book is important for the systematization of the monomyth or the Hero myth with examples of the Hero's journey from all the world's cultures used to describe and explain this important narrative applicable to everyone's day to day life. The source of inspiration for New Hollywood directors of the 70's Coppola, Lucas, Milius, Spielberg, Schrader. Read this book and then watch the films from this period again.
If you are familiar with the ideas the book will still be a joy to read and will provide a few insights. As said in the title of review, the earlier you read this book the better as it will save you some digging around.

The "hero cycle", as Campbell describes it is the underlying structure of all epic narrative. This cycle is found in novel and film as well as biblical and mythological stories. The stories that utilize this cycle (knowingly or not) leap into our minds and absorb our attention and admiration. Campbell's concepts have changed the way I perceive literature, film and contemporary events.

Of course, I can't help but mention how I first became interested in Joseph Campbell and his works. In 1988 Bill Moyers hosted a conversation with Campbell. This long conversation was produced into a 6-hour broadcast on PBS called Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth (DVD). I watched the series then I bought the CD, Power Of Myth.

This was my "proper introduction" to JC's interests and the first book I read after watching this series of interviews was "The Hero with a Thousand Faces." A wonderful companion to this work is Myth & the Movies: Discovering the Myth Structure of 50 Unforgettable Films.

Joseph Campbell is a "love him or hate him" type of guy. The other reviews of his works that I have found on the store bear this out. The criticisms seem to be that his examples do not bear out his theories, that he relies on Freudian and Jungian psychology as "proof", and that people do not agree with his world-view. My response is this: we must bear in mind that Joseph Campbell was, above all things, a pioneer. A pioneer need not get everything right the first time out - he is setting up a new paradigm with which to view the world. Freud did not get everything right when he fathered modern psychoanalysis, but he created a new framework and steered it in the direction it needed to go.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces is a comparative study of the religions and myths of the world. Its central theme is that all of their stories are essentially the same. They follow certain archetypal paths that are different in particular circumstances, but in general, follow the same overall arch. Now, this is not 100% true as even he admits - stories get changed around a bit and different things happen, but to the extent that he makes his point, the similarities are astonishing. His conclusion - or ONE possible interpretation - is that this reflects certain archetypal themes that are in every society's collective subconscious (Jung) and that these myths represent eternal truths about life...how to look at it and how to live it.
Now, as to the criticism that his examples don't bear out his theories, Campbell states that he is just choosing an example or two to illustrate his point. The purpose of this book is not to be a comprehensive collection of the world's myths - that book is The Golden Bough. Campbell selects myths that the average reader may not be familiar with. While sometimes similarities may not be immediately apparent, it is open to disagreement as any essay on literature is. Campbell warns though that these myths must be ready as poetry, not prose - so beware of any callow analysis. Personally, I would have like his using more familiar myths - especially Arthurian legends - to illustrate his point.
As for his seeming to rely on Freud and Jung as gospel, that is a bit dated. Even so, the fact that his theories do jibe with Jungian psychology is significant - if not actual "proof" that he's right. And as for disagreements with his world-view, that is irrelevant. Campbell has developed a framework with which to view the world; you do not have to draw the same conclusions from it that he does. Campbell did not believe in a personal God, and I believe he is wrong about that. But the underlying message to me is that, even though people may have divergent beliefs about religion, the underlying ideas and values of religion ARE DEMONSTRATABLY TRUE.
Campbell goes through each stage of the hero's journey, with all its variations. This is meant not only as academia but it is for YOU - the READER. This is how one views one's own life. These ancient stories were not just for entertainment - they showed us how to live. That's what this book is for.

This book is a godsend. While reading this book, I began to see the elements of the Monomyth in almost every story. Not only does this enhance my appreciation for the Star Wars Hexalogue, but for other films and books as well. If you are a fan of "Lord of the Rings," "Dune," "The Matrix," or even "The Smurfs," you see elements of the Monomyth.
Campbell has uncovered something profound in this analysis. There is a structure to the stories we tell, much like the structure to a Renaissance painting, or even a sonnet or limerick. A formula? No, not if it is done right. It is only formulaic if it is done poorly, like a bad sonnet. But the structure enhances poems--think about the last clean limerick you heard. The meter and structure made that last line all the funnier. So too with stories that follow the Monomyth pattern. The structure enhances the storytelling.
Aspiring writers should memorize and internalize the pattern in this book. It is the key to unlocking every good book.

First of all, let me make it dreadfully clear that this is NOT a book you should read just on the fact that it inspired George Lucas. That means nothing. Even stupid books can inspire you (it's happened to me, but that doesn't mean you should go read them). You should read this book because you're either interested in 1) heroes in all their different forms, 2) mythology in general, and/or 3) a writer. Secondly, who cares if some of Joseph Campbell's papers didn't make it to the Sarah Lawrence College. Does that mean he's a bad writer/researcher? NO! Spielberg didn't get Best Director for Jaws, does that mean he's a bad director? NO! I rest my case. Overall, I found this to be a very rewarding book, full of mythology, poems, thought-provoking passages, things worth taking notes about. But one thing that bothered me was this: This book is supposed to be about heroes and for the most part, it is. Basically, as long as Mr. Campbell mentions the word "hero" fairly often, you'll soon see the relevance. But in some chapters--like "Apotheosis"--you will probably have a harder time, or not see it at all. Also, I couldn't help but sometimes question his choice of stories to illustrate some of his points. To me, he should have mentioned Jonah somewhere in his chapter about the Refusal of the Call. But apart from those minor points, this book should be pleasing to writers and mythology buffs alike.

Campbell lived in another time, and so sometimes his vocabulary may not entirely translate. However the ideas and the careful, methodical thought he puts into his writing is priceless. It is clear that he wishes to help us all to "follow our bliss". Through the medium of mythology, Campbell truly explores the deepest need in us all...to live a meaningful and love filled life. Genius.

Reaction to this book will vary widely depending on what the reader believes and expects, but it is still worth reading today, though some aspects of it have not aged well.

The first thing that someone expecting a discussion of Myth and storytelling (this book is often mentioned in relation to Star Wars and other epic tales) is that Campbell is not as interested in stories as stories as he is in psychology. Dreams by some anonymous (probably long-dead) middle aged woman are treated with the same seriousness as Beowolf. I am saddened when I think of the worldwide myths which might have been discussed in the space taken up instead by a young woman's dream of crossing a muddy path and then a clean river and similar matters.

This is where the reader's viewpoint will greatly affect what he gets out of Hero With a Thousand Faces. Someone who believes Freud was a genius will appreciate the respectful tone taken when dealing with the master, and the many references to him. This is not to say Campbell accepts all Freudian theory, but he clearly does not regard Freud as some third-rate Tarot card reader. Readers with a low opinion of Freudian theories will chafe at the many instances in which psychiatric speculation is accepted as true. Noah's flood is important even if it is wholly untrue, interpreted dreams could be chosen to support nearly any theory, even if we assume the interpretations are scientific and correct.

Some may resent Campbell's treatment of the Bible as mere myth, and I am sure this was controversial at the time. However, these days religious folks are more likely to accept Hero, because Campbell often deals with Biblical passages. Non-believers might be annoyed with the steady stream of commentary which assumes a general knowledge of the bible.

The book, however, is interesting, well written and more importantly it has had a great influence, and continues to exert influence in film, fiction and elsewhere. One could criticize the theory that myths follow a certain pattern, when the pattern is wide enough to encompass nearly anything, but Campbell's take on human myth-making in its many forms is still worth the time it takes to read.

The work of Campbell is at the point where the modern, secular western world is wrestling with the questions of
life, death, and existence. The western world is just like me: traditional religions are not providing meaningful
answers any more. But, that doesn’t we should give up wondering: we need to keep struggling. That’s what Jung and
Campbell are doing and they are pointing the way for others to follow: people like me.

I began to read Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" without stopping and I could not put it down. It is a very intriguing and easy to read book, and I would strongly recommend this book to the general readers.

In this book, Campbell brought forth in a very insightful way about the journey of the 'archetypal hero' who can be found in almost all the mythologies and religions of every country. This is interesting for I never seen it before. The author has done so with a careful study of these mythologies, legends, and religions.

There was a mention of "Dark Night of the Soul" in this book, which I think is important for me personally. The fact that I have a journey and this book speak of great volume for me. Each of us has a road of trials, challenges and obstacles to face. But, not everyone has a destiny. There are many in our world who refuses to know one's own "dark night of the soul," who refuses to heed one's calling, and who desires to be 'safe' and 'asleep.' These people are ignorant of the fact that they are slaves to their own temptations and to the will of the psychopaths in power.

This book is one of the most important books. And, if you are a truth seeker, this is a book for you.

Joseph Campbell elucidates religion and mythology in a way that speaks to the contemporary mind. Myth, religion, literature, story – these deep metaphors all inform our lives and provide the psychological infrastructure upon which our daily emotional lives find resonance, explanation and support amidst a 24 hour cycle of chaotic information. With them, the often disturbing and mysterious future can be somewhat tamed and rendered sensible knowing that our kind have faced it all before in one way or another. Campbell once said, "Telling stories seems a glorious way to spend a life." Joseph Campbell lived well.

I must admit, I'd never heard that Campbell's work was New Age garbage that is not accepted by most scholars. This book is copiously footnoted, allowing the reader to go to the sources if he/she is not satisfied with the conclusions. Campbell certainly demonstrates an incredible knowledge of mythology from around the entire world, and he weaves stories together seamlessly. As for the complaint that he picks and chooses examples to support his ideas while ignoring the rest of the evidence: Campbell admits in this book that not every single myth fits his formula exactly, but a great many do. He simply couldn't include all of these examples, because that would have made the book far too long. All of this aside, I did have one problem: Campbell relies far too much on the work of early psychoanalysts (especially Freud and Jung) to interpret symbolism in mythology.

Having moved so far beyond the intellectual/psychological paradigms Campbell subscribed to and so magnificently introduced to me with this book, I had forgotten how important his way of thinking is and had been to both regular people and anthropological scholarship- and my own personal development as a person.
Joseph Campbell was an intellectual/spiritual throwback to the pre-Victorian age, when myth was not degraded for religious, socio-political and scientific agendas. It is almost hard to believe- thanks to him- that the word could have ever taken on the connotation of lie or trivial fantasy. Or, that the ancient myths at the foundation of what we know to be culture, universal in much of their form and reason for being, could ever possibly be ignored or trivialized. So much wealth of human history do they hold, and so many treasures of inner knowledge do they make as gifts.
Campbell set out to be not just a scholar or intellectual, but a modern Bard of his own, in the tradition of Homer, Sophecles, Confucius, Shakespeare and Freud. In so doing, he also cut through much of the modern culture's historic efforts to divide the world into some form of the Pagan/Believer dichotomy (via religon or science or politics vs. the regular folks of every century and their traditions) and reestablish the hegemony of the ancient truths that still serve as the fountain head of our imagination. HERO OF A THOUSAND FACES does that so elegantly, and so compassionately, that it becomes a truly life- affirming as well as paradigm shifting adventure.
Some scholars have had and will continue to have problems with his work and approach. Don't kid yourself; it's in part because he was such a wonderful writer who can connect the daunting intellectual scope of his ideas with the general public, almost regardless of one's level of education. Weaker writers cannot do that, regardless of their intellectual capacity or theories, and hide in the ivory tower where it is safe. Another reason, however, is the degree to which his work relied on the psychological theories of Jung. Though Jung's genius is also unquestionable, he did not provide the only lens by which to look at ancient myth, and via staying so deeply in a psychological paradigm (for more than just altruistic therapeutic reasons) he served to antagonize variant approaches and perspectives on the same materials. (Jungian psychologists and architects for example can almost never sit in the same room together without a fistfight practically ensuing, so violently and diametrically opposed they become on Jung's interpretations of what very often is actually ancient science and mathematics.) Yet though I tend not to agree with a significant portion of the meaning given to Campbell's work and discoveries anymore for that reason, I cannot help but remember that it was he more or less who opened my eyes to so much of what I now understand to be human and universal, transcending culture, "race", language and time.
Campbell's unexpected bringing together of mythical similarities from Celtic, native American, Indian, Bablyonian and other divergent world sources of myth is done so well, and so poetically while again with great erudition, it will put you in touch with much of what is beautiful in art, literature, religion, and the human mind- not to mention the human heart. And of the several of his books I have read, HERO OF A THOUSAND FACES is the best. Your soul-quest will far from end with his work and ideas, but I can't imagine it having a better beginning.

If you want to get an understanding of what would happen if you crossed mythology with Freud and Jung's subconscious then this is the book to get. Joseph Campbell takes an in-depth view of mythology and claims that it is really just composed of products of the subconscious. He backs his claim up with many stories from such well known religious stories such as the bet about Job to myths told by the Eskimos. You do not have to believe what he is telling you, but his points are very intriguing ones to think about. This is some pretty heavy stuff, definitely not meant for a light read, but if you have a basic idea of Freud then you will be able to take that knowledge and expand it into the realm of mythology quite easily. You may yet discover that there is still new and intriguing stuff to learn about.

To begin this review, I have to start with describing myself: I am by no means a historical scholar. I can recall many different facts and figures from my classes in World History and English Literature, and I found most of the topics we covered interesting to where I could understand to the context of the lesson and hold small, but factual, discussions about a variety of topics. However, if I were to attend a conference of "Mythology during the Classical Era," I would not be able handle all the references and information that the scholars of the conference would. That is exactly how I felt confronting the multitudes of cultures, folklore, and covered by Campbell, which is the primary reason why it took my to finish a ~350 page book in a disappointing 6 months.
To start with my main complaint: throughout this reading, I would find myself having to reread each line, paragraph and page to understand the connections that were being made and to get an idea of what purpose referencing these different stories from across the entire human culture. The difference between this and most other books I read is that there was no way I could immerse myself into the book and cohesively follow the author's purpose. I kept constantly drifting off, and the book was not drawing me into the material. It would resemble an english major being presented a Calculus book, there would be relatively nothing to catch their eye and to have them read each line and understand what the concepts are without drifting or getting lost would be a grueling process (I assume). These complaints come only from a lack of experience and knowledge on my part of world history and culture and having little interest to pursue this knowledge other than the general knowledge found in high school textbooks, watching YouTube videos like CrashCourse, and a random Wikipedia article from time to time.

From what I did understand, the overarching themes and similar occurrences of each reference was eye-opening, and and really did show how related and connected most if not all human cultures are. The places where I could follow author's intent clearly happened in two different scenarios. The first of which were the times when I already had a background in that particular culture or story. For example, this included the mythological works of Greece, i.e. the Odyssey and Hercules, and the few backstories of the different Gods. The other times were when Campbell actually related the background of the story, or actually written the passages from these stories themselves, giving me the insight and context needed to understand, and I could easily find where his point was made, and later remember that story later on when he points back to it for a later chapter. Otherwise, when he referenced a discrete story of a particular civilization, I would just have to take his word and try to find meaning within a host of meaningless names and ideas (at least to me, they obviously meant a great deal to these ancient civilizations).
What I find champions this book is that it follows its purpose from beginning to end. Campbell never fails providing detail after detail to supporting his points, and goes into extraordinary depth and analysis, covering most of the themes you can imagine in terms of the hero's journey. For myself, I thought we would deal with only the hero himself, the sole individual(s), who are the stars of these stories. Instead, I found myself learning about how the evils are personified, the relationship betweens the father and mother, a host of other topics that I had completely looked over that go into a true hero's tale. What greatly impresses me is how even some modern heroic tales parallel the same structure that Campbell lays out. Numerous examples can be listed that exemplify the evolution of the main character from an undeveloped self to an evolved hero. Giving one of two examples that I am familiar with, Star Wars perfectly represents that trend. One documentary that explains this more in detail is "Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed." Additionally, the other example involves one of my favorite video game franchises of all time: the Legend of Zelda, Throughout the game, especially with the newer console versions providing even more character development, shows the evolution of Link, the main hero, from an normal kid to the hero of the entire land. (Maybe this is why I don't understand much of the book, too busy playing games rather than reading haha).
On a completely unrelated note, it makes me think of just how different it will be when we meet extraterrestrial life for the first time. Humans have a connection between each other that both culturally and psyiologiccally exists and with these connections, despite different origins, experiences, languages, etc, we are still at some level able to understand and communicate with each other. Whenever we do happen to chance upon such a culture, it will be completely alien, that will be anything but similar to those depicted within sci-fi novels and films. Even then, it will be something we could never imagine.

To conclude, Campell's "The Hero with A Thousand " is a fantastic insight into human culture, its deep connections, and parallel simitry that has followed humans throughout its entire written history, and much of its oral as well. My only complaint is that, for low-level readers like myself, I cannot fully take all the lessons away that are taught within this book, which is the only reason I will knock off one star. I would only recommend this work to those either with the scholarly background necessary behind them, or who are generally intrigued about the topics covered by Campbell.
I leave with a quote referenced by Campbell: "God has made different religions to suit different aspirants, times, and countries. All doctrines are so many paths; but a path is by no means God Himself. Indeed, one can reach God if one follows any of the paths with full hearted devotion. . . . One may eat the cake with icing either straight or sideways. It will taste sweet either way."

-insert catch phrase here-

Joseph Campbell is a "love him or hate him" type of guy. The other reviews of his works that I have found on the store bear this out. The criticisms seem to be that his examples do not bear out his theories, that he relies on Freudian and Jungian psychology as "proof", and that people do not agree with his world-view. My response is this: we must bear in mind that Joseph Campbell was, above all things, a pioneer. A pioneer need not get everything right the first time out - he is setting up a new paradigm with which to view the world. Freud did not get everything right when he fathered modern psychoanalysis, but he created a new framework and steered it in the direction it needed to go.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces is a comparative study of the religions and myths of the world. Its central theme is that all of their stories are essentially the same. They follow certain archetypal paths that are different in particular circumstances, but in general, follow the same overall arch. Now, this is not 100% true as even he admits - stories get changed around a bit and different things happen, but to the extent that he makes his point, the similarities are astonishing. His conclusion - or ONE possible interpretation - is that this reflects certain archetypal themes that are in every society's collective subconscious (Jung) and that these myths represent eternal truths about life...how to look at it and how to live it.
Now, as to the criticism that his examples don't bear out his theories, Campbell states that he is just choosing an example or two to illustrate his point. The purpose of this book is not to be a comprehensive collection of the world's myths - that book is The Golden Bough. Campbell selects myths that the average reader may not be familiar with. While sometimes similarities may not be immediately apparent, it is open to disagreement as any essay on literature is. Campbell warns though that these myths must be ready as poetry, not prose - so beware of any callow analysis. Personally, I would have like his using more familiar myths - especially Arthurian legends - to illustrate his point.
As for his seeming to rely on Freud and Jung as gospel, that is a bit dated. Even so, the fact that his theories do jibe with Jungian psychology is significant - if not actual "proof" that he's right. And as for disagreements with his world-view, that is irrelevant. Campbell has developed a framework with which to view the world; you do not have to draw the same conclusions from it that he does. Campbell did not believe in a personal God, and I believe he is wrong about that. But the underlying message to me is that, even though people may have divergent beliefs about religion, the underlying ideas and values of religion ARE DEMONSTRATABLY TRUE.
Campbell goes through each stage of the hero's journey, with all its variations. This is meant not only as academia but it is for YOU - the READER. This is how one views one's own life. These ancient stories were not just for entertainment - they showed us how to live. That's what this book is for.

This book is a godsend. While reading this book, I began to see the elements of the Monomyth in almost every story. Not only does this enhance my appreciation for the Star Wars Hexalogue, but for other films and books as well. If you are a fan of "Lord of the Rings," "Dune," "The Matrix," or even "The Smurfs," you see elements of the Monomyth.
Campbell has uncovered something profound in this analysis. There is a structure to the stories we tell, much like the structure to a Renaissance painting, or even a sonnet or limerick. A formula? No, not if it is done right. It is only formulaic if it is done poorly, like a bad sonnet. But the structure enhances poems--think about the last clean limerick you heard. The meter and structure made that last line all the funnier. So too with stories that follow the Monomyth pattern. The structure enhances the storytelling.
Aspiring writers should memorize and internalize the pattern in this book. It is the key to unlocking every good book.

First of all, let me make it dreadfully clear that this is NOT a book you should read just on the fact that it inspired George Lucas. That means nothing. Even stupid books can inspire you (it's happened to me, but that doesn't mean you should go read them). You should read this book because you're either interested in 1) heroes in all their different forms, 2) mythology in general, and/or 3) a writer. Secondly, who cares if some of Joseph Campbell's papers didn't make it to the Sarah Lawrence College. Does that mean he's a bad writer/researcher? NO! Spielberg didn't get Best Director for Jaws, does that mean he's a bad director? NO! I rest my case. Overall, I found this to be a very rewarding book, full of mythology, poems, thought-provoking passages, things worth taking notes about. But one thing that bothered me was this: This book is supposed to be about heroes and for the most part, it is. Basically, as long as Mr. Campbell mentions the word "hero" fairly often, you'll soon see the relevance. But in some chapters--like "Apotheosis"--you will probably have a harder time, or not see it at all. Also, I couldn't help but sometimes question his choice of stories to illustrate some of his points. To me, he should have mentioned Jonah somewhere in his chapter about the Refusal of the Call. But apart from those minor points, this book should be pleasing to writers and mythology buffs alike.

Campbell lived in another time, and so sometimes his vocabulary may not entirely translate. However the ideas and the careful, methodical thought he puts into his writing is priceless. It is clear that he wishes to help us all to "follow our bliss". Through the medium of mythology, Campbell truly explores the deepest need in us all...to live a meaningful and love filled life. Genius.

Reaction to this book will vary widely depending on what the reader believes and expects, but it is still worth reading today, though some aspects of it have not aged well.

The first thing that someone expecting a discussion of Myth and storytelling (this book is often mentioned in relation to Star Wars and other epic tales) is that Campbell is not as interested in stories as stories as he is in psychology. Dreams by some anonymous (probably long-dead) middle aged woman are treated with the same seriousness as Beowolf. I am saddened when I think of the worldwide myths which might have been discussed in the space taken up instead by a young woman's dream of crossing a muddy path and then a clean river and similar matters.

This is where the reader's viewpoint will greatly affect what he gets out of Hero With a Thousand Faces. Someone who believes Freud was a genius will appreciate the respectful tone taken when dealing with the master, and the many references to him. This is not to say Campbell accepts all Freudian theory, but he clearly does not regard Freud as some third-rate Tarot card reader. Readers with a low opinion of Freudian theories will chafe at the many instances in which psychiatric speculation is accepted as true. Noah's flood is important even if it is wholly untrue, interpreted dreams could be chosen to support nearly any theory, even if we assume the interpretations are scientific and correct.

Some may resent Campbell's treatment of the Bible as mere myth, and I am sure this was controversial at the time. However, these days religious folks are more likely to accept Hero, because Campbell often deals with Biblical passages. Non-believers might be annoyed with the steady stream of commentary which assumes a general knowledge of the bible.

The book, however, is interesting, well written and more importantly it has had a great influence, and continues to exert influence in film, fiction and elsewhere. One could criticize the theory that myths follow a certain pattern, when the pattern is wide enough to encompass nearly anything, but Campbell's take on human myth-making in its many forms is still worth the time it takes to read.

The work of Campbell is at the point where the modern, secular western world is wrestling with the questions of
life, death, and existence. The western world is just like me: traditional religions are not providing meaningful
answers any more. But, that doesn’t we should give up wondering: we need to keep struggling. That’s what Jung and
Campbell are doing and they are pointing the way for others to follow: people like me.

I began to read Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" without stopping and I could not put it down. It is a very intriguing and easy to read book, and I would strongly recommend this book to the general readers.

In this book, Campbell brought forth in a very insightful way about the journey of the 'archetypal hero' who can be found in almost all the mythologies and religions of every country. This is interesting for I never seen it before. The author has done so with a careful study of these mythologies, legends, and religions.

There was a mention of "Dark Night of the Soul" in this book, which I think is important for me personally. The fact that I have a journey and this book speak of great volume for me. Each of us has a road of trials, challenges and obstacles to face. But, not everyone has a destiny. There are many in our world who refuses to know one's own "dark night of the soul," who refuses to heed one's calling, and who desires to be 'safe' and 'asleep.' These people are ignorant of the fact that they are slaves to their own temptations and to the will of the psychopaths in power.

This book is one of the most important books. And, if you are a truth seeker, this is a book for you.

Joseph Campbell elucidates religion and mythology in a way that speaks to the contemporary mind. Myth, religion, literature, story – these deep metaphors all inform our lives and provide the psychological infrastructure upon which our daily emotional lives find resonance, explanation and support amidst a 24 hour cycle of chaotic information. With them, the often disturbing and mysterious future can be somewhat tamed and rendered sensible knowing that our kind have faced it all before in one way or another. Campbell once said, "Telling stories seems a glorious way to spend a life." Joseph Campbell lived well.

I must admit, I'd never heard that Campbell's work was New Age garbage that is not accepted by most scholars. This book is copiously footnoted, allowing the reader to go to the sources if he/she is not satisfied with the conclusions. Campbell certainly demonstrates an incredible knowledge of mythology from around the entire world, and he weaves stories together seamlessly. As for the complaint that he picks and chooses examples to support his ideas while ignoring the rest of the evidence: Campbell admits in this book that not every single myth fits his formula exactly, but a great many do. He simply couldn't include all of these examples, because that would have made the book far too long. All of this aside, I did have one problem: Campbell relies far too much on the work of early psychoanalysts (especially Freud and Jung) to interpret symbolism in mythology.

Having moved so far beyond the intellectual/psychological paradigms Campbell subscribed to and so magnificently introduced to me with this book, I had forgotten how important his way of thinking is and had been to both regular people and anthropological scholarship- and my own personal development as a person.
Joseph Campbell was an intellectual/spiritual throwback to the pre-Victorian age, when myth was not degraded for religious, socio-political and scientific agendas. It is almost hard to believe- thanks to him- that the word could have ever taken on the connotation of lie or trivial fantasy. Or, that the ancient myths at the foundation of what we know to be culture, universal in much of their form and reason for being, could ever possibly be ignored or trivialized. So much wealth of human history do they hold, and so many treasures of inner knowledge do they make as gifts.
Campbell set out to be not just a scholar or intellectual, but a modern Bard of his own, in the tradition of Homer, Sophecles, Confucius, Shakespeare and Freud. In so doing, he also cut through much of the modern culture's historic efforts to divide the world into some form of the Pagan/Believer dichotomy (via religon or science or politics vs. the regular folks of every century and their traditions) and reestablish the hegemony of the ancient truths that still serve as the fountain head of our imagination. HERO OF A THOUSAND FACES does that so elegantly, and so compassionately, that it becomes a truly life- affirming as well as paradigm shifting adventure.
Some scholars have had and will continue to have problems with his work and approach. Don't kid yourself; it's in part because he was such a wonderful writer who can connect the daunting intellectual scope of his ideas with the general public, almost regardless of one's level of education. Weaker writers cannot do that, regardless of their intellectual capacity or theories, and hide in the ivory tower where it is safe. Another reason, however, is the degree to which his work relied on the psychological theories of Jung. Though Jung's genius is also unquestionable, he did not provide the only lens by which to look at ancient myth, and via staying so deeply in a psychological paradigm (for more than just altruistic therapeutic reasons) he served to antagonize variant approaches and perspectives on the same materials. (Jungian psychologists and architects for example can almost never sit in the same room together without a fistfight practically ensuing, so violently and diametrically opposed they become on Jung's interpretations of what very often is actually ancient science and mathematics.) Yet though I tend not to agree with a significant portion of the meaning given to Campbell's work and discoveries anymore for that reason, I cannot help but remember that it was he more or less who opened my eyes to so much of what I now understand to be human and universal, transcending culture, "race", language and time.
Campbell's unexpected bringing together of mythical similarities from Celtic, native American, Indian, Bablyonian and other divergent world sources of myth is done so well, and so poetically while again with great erudition, it will put you in touch with much of what is beautiful in art, literature, religion, and the human mind- not to mention the human heart. And of the several of his books I have read, HERO OF A THOUSAND FACES is the best. Your soul-quest will far from end with his work and ideas, but I can't imagine it having a better beginning.

If you want to get an understanding of what would happen if you crossed mythology with Freud and Jung's subconscious then this is the book to get. Joseph Campbell takes an in-depth view of mythology and claims that it is really just composed of products of the subconscious. He backs his claim up with many stories from such well known religious stories such as the bet about Job to myths told by the Eskimos. You do not have to believe what he is telling you, but his points are very intriguing ones to think about. This is some pretty heavy stuff, definitely not meant for a light read, but if you have a basic idea of Freud then you will be able to take that knowledge and expand it into the realm of mythology quite easily. You may yet discover that there is still new and intriguing stuff to learn about.

To begin this review, I have to start with describing myself: I am by no means a historical scholar. I can recall many different facts and figures from my classes in World History and English Literature, and I found most of the topics we covered interesting to where I could understand to the context of the lesson and hold small, but factual, discussions about a variety of topics. However, if I were to attend a conference of "Mythology during the Classical Era," I would not be able handle all the references and information that the scholars of the conference would. That is exactly how I felt confronting the multitudes of cultures, folklore, and covered by Campbell, which is the primary reason why it took my to finish a ~350 page book in a disappointing 6 months.
To start with my main complaint: throughout this reading, I would find myself having to reread each line, paragraph and page to understand the connections that were being made and to get an idea of what purpose referencing these different stories from across the entire human culture. The difference between this and most other books I read is that there was no way I could immerse myself into the book and cohesively follow the author's purpose. I kept constantly drifting off, and the book was not drawing me into the material. It would resemble an english major being presented a Calculus book, there would be relatively nothing to catch their eye and to have them read each line and understand what the concepts are without drifting or getting lost would be a grueling process (I assume). These complaints come only from a lack of experience and knowledge on my part of world history and culture and having little interest to pursue this knowledge other than the general knowledge found in high school textbooks, watching YouTube videos like CrashCourse, and a random Wikipedia article from time to time.

From what I did understand, the overarching themes and similar occurrences of each reference was eye-opening, and and really did show how related and connected most if not all human cultures are. The places where I could follow author's intent clearly happened in two different scenarios. The first of which were the times when I already had a background in that particular culture or story. For example, this included the mythological works of Greece, i.e. the Odyssey and Hercules, and the few backstories of the different Gods. The other times were when Campbell actually related the background of the story, or actually written the passages from these stories themselves, giving me the insight and context needed to understand, and I could easily find where his point was made, and later remember that story later on when he points back to it for a later chapter. Otherwise, when he referenced a discrete story of a particular civilization, I would just have to take his word and try to find meaning within a host of meaningless names and ideas (at least to me, they obviously meant a great deal to these ancient civilizations).
What I find champions this book is that it follows its purpose from beginning to end. Campbell never fails providing detail after detail to supporting his points, and goes into extraordinary depth and analysis, covering most of the themes you can imagine in terms of the hero's journey. For myself, I thought we would deal with only the hero himself, the sole individual(s), who are the stars of these stories. Instead, I found myself learning about how the evils are personified, the relationship betweens the father and mother, a host of other topics that I had completely looked over that go into a true hero's tale. What greatly impresses me is how even some modern heroic tales parallel the same structure that Campbell lays out. Numerous examples can be listed that exemplify the evolution of the main character from an undeveloped self to an evolved hero. Giving one of two examples that I am familiar with, Star Wars perfectly represents that trend. One documentary that explains this more in detail is "Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed." Additionally, the other example involves one of my favorite video game franchises of all time: the Legend of Zelda, Throughout the game, especially with the newer console versions providing even more character development, shows the evolution of Link, the main hero, from an normal kid to the hero of the entire land. (Maybe this is why I don't understand much of the book, too busy playing games rather than reading haha).
On a completely unrelated note, it makes me think of just how different it will be when we meet extraterrestrial life for the first time. Humans have a connection between each other that both culturally and psyiologiccally exists and with these connections, despite different origins, experiences, languages, etc, we are still at some level able to understand and communicate with each other. Whenever we do happen to chance upon such a culture, it will be completely alien, that will be anything but similar to those depicted within sci-fi novels and films. Even then, it will be something we could never imagine.

To conclude, Campell's "The Hero with A Thousand " is a fantastic insight into human culture, its deep connections, and parallel simitry that has followed humans throughout its entire written history, and much of its oral as well. My only complaint is that, for low-level readers like myself, I cannot fully take all the lessons away that are taught within this book, which is the only reason I will knock off one star. I would only recommend this work to those either with the scholarly background necessary behind them, or who are generally intrigued about the topics covered by Campbell.
I leave with a quote referenced by Campbell: "God has made different religions to suit different aspirants, times, and countries. All doctrines are so many paths; but a path is by no means God Himself. Indeed, one can reach God if one follows any of the paths with full hearted devotion. . . . One may eat the cake with icing either straight or sideways. It will taste sweet either way."

-insert catch phrase here-

You may or may not know that this book was a big inspiration for the Star Wars saga. For a long time, I did not know that. When George Lucas denied any specific religious ties, I questioned it, but took him at his word. Now that I have read this book, I understand why.

If you read just the first couple chapters and the epilogue, you will get a large part of this text. In between, there is an amazing amount of detail on different myths. This is especially amazing since it was done over fifty years ago, before computers and the Internet. The book stays on target and has a good grasp of the religions without distorting them for the author's benefit.

If you are a true Star Wars fan, you MUST read this book. If you have avoided mythology, like I have, this is a good and quick glimpse of many mythologies / religions. Not light reading, but the writing is done well so that the reading is not a difficult task. Definitely recommended.

Joseph Campbell was among the first scholars to take a global view of human mythology and history. Hero is the primer for those new to Campbell's work or those seeking a basic understanding of how humanity's great stories compare, contrast, and complement each other. This was one of the first books that began my personal awakening. All these years later, I still find myself referring back to this seminal work.

I'm tempted not to bother writing a review here, simply because most of what I would say has already been said: The true value of a myth lies in the lesson imparted behind the words; If you believe the words of a myth, you destroy it; All myths have a common origin in the complex behavior patterns that are humanity. It would be quite human of me to lavish praise on Campbell, and say that he is one of the great minds of the 20th Century, and I might even be right in doing so. But ultimately I don't think that's what Campbell would have wanted. More, I think that he, along with other great minds, wish to impart an understanding that reason can never be found within words, only behind them. Only by being on that path can we gain something meaningful from the book, but then we are forced to say also that the book itself is meaningless. And it's true: There are many books that can teach us the same things, and yet there are many who will never learn this lesson, no matter what they read.
The real value this book had for me is that I know I am not alone. There are others who have travelled the lonely path, and I can do nothing better than to examine their footprints in history. Don't iconize Campbell. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. But do follow his signposts, of which there are plenty in this well-written manuscript.

For those who enjoy shadowing the hero's walk through mythology across time and space, then this call to adventure wiil not disappoint. Campbell discussed hero mythologies in a multicultural context highlighting the symbols and meaning shared by diverse peoples. He storytells and explains. Campbell does explore concepts and beliefs in-depth; therefore, you may want to digest certain sections before reading further. The hero's venture and passage is one we have all taken; Campbell reminds us how awesome the journey is. This is a "keeper" for a home library.

This is one book by Joseph Campbell that one can read with great enthusiasm and devoted interest; one can literally get carried away with excitement in this mythic presentation. In "The Hero With A Thousand Faces," Joseph Campbell offers literature, philosophy and psychology interests an advanced placement status.
Personally understood, this book truly hits home as a milestone book for a mature consciousness; especially, when one reaches a holistic and comprehensive level of development and understanding in global social philosophy and cultural psychology. One can sit back, relax, and enjoy the thousand or so cultural permutations of the heroic challenge...and follow "The Hero's Journey" (as his or her historical process of individualization) within the cultural time frame in which the journey symbolically took place. In this work Joseph Campbell assumes the role of master story teller, symbolic anaylst, and psychosocial interpreter.

I had been wanting to read this for the longest time and I must've read other more interesting and updated books on the way here, because "Hero with a Thousand Faces" didn't thrill me.

I think one of its biggest weaknesses is the way in which Campbell paraphrases almost every myth (it made me want to skip entire pages). A brief summary would've sufficed to make the point.

Other than that, I found the conclusion very interesting and relevant.

Campbell provides a remarkable overview of myths from all over the world, and shows how there are common threads running through them. There were parts I skipped over rather quickly because I felt I didn't need to know all the details. There are lots of startlingly thought-provoking statements. I was amused/frustrated by Campbell's use of odd or obscure words, eg. "loathly", "cathected".

I found the book very helpful in that it encouraged me to examine the events in my life to try to work out where they have tied in with aspects of the hero myth.

Campbell says (p 249) that "Wherever the poetry of myth is interpreted as biography, history or science, it is killed. .... Such a blight has certainly descended on the Bible and on a great part of the Christian cult." I think I am right in saying that Campbell (1) promotes the myth as a valuable tool in living life to the full, but (2) does not see any "hyper-myth" which connects to a reality beyond the physical world. For one who was brought up on the Christian myth, that's challenging.

My first experience with Joseph Campbell was through reading "The Power of Myth" - a transcription of an interview of Campbell by PBS's Bill Moyers. I have been spellbound since then, and have been intellectually and spiritually stimulated by Campbell's ideas.

Campbell was a "generalist" in his words. He studied what he called "comparative mythology" - that is, he sought to find what human nature is through comparing similarities in the mythologies of different cultures (including those of the monotheistic traditions such as found in the Bible.) He extended the Jungian (neo-Freudian) tradition of thought by suggesting that "myths are the dreams of society," and that they reveal, through their symbolism, problems common to all humans in all times and places.

I have owned "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" for several years, and I refer back to it often. I find the most interesting and inspirational part of this book beginning in Chapter IV (p. 245), where a diagram of the generic myth is provided, followed by a detailed explanation of the content and flow of mythical tales in general. This could be useful to story-writers and readers, but more importantly could be thought of as a guide for living life.

From Campbell, I have become conscious of the "call to adventure" in my life. That is, when something catches one's attention with strength, the best thing to do is (usually) to pursue rather than "refuse the call." Thus this book has become not only a literary commentary and study of human nature, but also a guide for living the myth of your own life.

A must read the adventurous!

Campbell took myths from a very new angle. Instead of deciphering how one or another myth had been reflecting our inner psyche before the advent of psychology, he chose to take the hero as his line. He then went through many cultures to show us how each step in the heroic quest has been expressed in various religions.
The book is not as poetic as Murcia Eliade but it is more trans cultural and less shallow. It doesn't yield in intellectual conceit as Jean Pierre Vernant's work and is more accurate. It is as actual as Roland Barthe's mythologies. It is almost as profound as Paul Diel, a rarely quoted author, who gave the keys to understand any mythology in any culture, but offers a different angle. It has the surgical precision of Claude Levy Strauss. There is no twist or additions as in some of Jung's precious works. The insights of the book recall the importance of Freud's Totem and Taboos. It walks well in Bettelheim's steps.
Since the "hero" alternatively concerns, in any psychological analysis, the representation of the self and of the father. This book will speak to any one who has some inclination towards understanding better his own psyche.
It is not only worth reading, it's one of the books one would take on a desert island to feed his mind and soul.

The good news is that Campbell asserts an interesting and provocative hypothesis: all hero myths have a common storyline. The bad news is that from the examples given in this book we'll have to take his word for it. While entertaining, the myths he uses as examples simply do not prove his point. Written in the middle of the 20th century, The Hero with a Thousand Faces uses Freudian and Jungian psychoanalysis to further his interpretation - something that today would inspire a few chuckles. Most readers encounter Campbell in college and believe it's a "profound" experience.

It may be, and Campbell might be right, but only English and film school majors looking for plot lines and Psychology majors still needing a shot of Freud and Jung will be convinced by the evidence as presented in this book. I finished the book astonished that it had received the praise it has. The idea of the archetype is brilliant, the supporting evidence lacks rigor.

Consider for a minute, every movie that has ever touched your heart, every story that still moves you, or every hero/heroine that has inspired you. Every bit of magic in the world of story telling that you could not define or articulate. This is the logic behind it. And the logic in itself, is magical.
This book makes every goosebump make sense. It will make you smile in recognition or gasp at the recall, and all in all, you see how the hero's journey is not just applicable to a Harry Potter or Luke Skywalker, but to your own life . This is not for people who are looking to be spoonfed, or who like their knowledge with a big dose of fun and excitement. Yes, it is pedantic, and it is long winded, but if you are patient, and do not require special effects to understand transformation of the spirit, this book will find a permanent place in your book shelf and you will feel rejuvenated everytime you read it.

Joseph Campbell's writings have had more influence on late 20th century culture than you might expect: The Hero with a Thousand Faces resonates obviously through Star Wars, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings and indeed almost any other contemporary Science Fiction work you could mention, and more subtly in any one of hundreds of films and novels of the last half century. Many indeed are the fruit of Campbell's tree.

In The Hero With A Thousand Faces Campbell sets out his stall early: his "monomyth" which is explained in fairly short order, and supported in more depth over the rest of the book by Campbell's account of hundreds instantiations of it embodied in myths from the Judaeo-Christian, Classical, Native American, Indian, African, Asian and Polynesian traditions. It is even illustrated, rather pointlessly, with sculptures and depictions of these various myths.

This means it's a fairly quick read: it is Campbell's argument that is interesting, not his field research in support of it, and his stentorian and humourless tone in recounting the legends is no incentive to dwell on them.

Campbell's main claim - to have extracted a solitary narrative essence common to all mythology - is unsustainable: even if you do allow the tortured interpretations Campbell makes of the myths he cites, the best that can be said is that any one of the dozen or more common features of the "monomyth" tend to show up in his examples (who knows whether they do in the myths he *doesn't* cite?); to say that they all do is false, even on the evidence Campbell presents in his book. And many of his examples don't fit comfortably into the roles which Campbell assigns them.

So in that regard, Campbell's thesis needs to be watered down to have any real value. As do the courage of his convictions in the validity of psychoanalysis: treating Freud and Jung as gospel in this day and age seems more than a little quaint.

But that's not to say there isn't something to be said for the importance of the subconscious in what makes a good story, nor that the elements of the "monomyth" do appear in mythology, nor that they don't make a great foundation for a mythology. Cogent evidence or that last point is provided by Messrs Wachowski and Lucas, who have openly used Campbell's template to create latter day myths of their - and, like it or not, our - own.

Where Campbell is persuasive is that myth a metaphor on which we can examine ourselves, and that as soon as we mistake metaphor for a genuine explanatory hypothesis, its very usefulness evaporates. In the current political climate, this is a point which can't be stressed enough.

In summary, this ought to be compulsory reading for any aspiring screenplay writer or novelist, and will be food for thought for anyone else interested in the structure of fiction. The Hero With A Thousand Faces may be the wrong side of fifty now, but it is no relic: as long as the likes of Luke Skywalker and Neo are part of the zeitgeist, Joseph Campbell's theories will have some significance in our culture, for better or for worse, for some time to come.

Olly Buxton

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...

The premise of this book -- that through the aid of psychoanalysis, we can find common elements in the world myths, folk tales, and religions -- is appealing. The layout of the body of the book highlights the beginning, middle, and end of the hero journey, as told through a catalog of stories from all over the world in different time periods. Roughly speaking, the "meta-story" Campell tells is a) a journey to a mysterious place, where the protagonist has been shaken out of the world of reality, b) a disintegration of identity, and, through battles with allegorical foes, a reintegration that gives the reinvigorated hero a power and the secret to conquer the "tyrant" of the old and decaying world of reality, and c) the hero's interaction (or refusal to do so) with the world of reality with his enlightened state. The various motifs Campbell labels along the hero journey (e.g., the call to adventure, the belly of the whale, the magic flight) are intended to further this meta-story.
There are two problems I have with the book as it appears today, one of which is by Campbell's doing and the other not. First, the method Campbell uses to make his points, through a series of concrete examples, is overwhelming to someone who has only a laymen's knowledge of the stories. As he jumps from a myth from, medieval Judaism and then (without a segue) to, for example, ancient Egypt, makes it harder and harder to understand the point he's trying to make by linking these stories together.
The second problem has to do with the state of scholarship in both psychology and religion since the 1940s, when Campbell wrote the book. In psychology, there's a heavy reliance upon Freud and Jung in the book. While I wouldn't say that their theories are obsolete, I would doubt that an author today were to use psychoanalysis to study world religions, I would doubt that he/she would use so much unfiltered Freud and Jung.
The study of religion has changed as well. In particular, religious scholars today aren't as enthusiastic about the "history of religions" school as they were in the first half of the 20th century. While some evangelical scholars will bristle at any notion that elements of their faith looks like others, the assumptions underlying Campbell's statement that "[t]hroughout the ancient world such myths and rites abounded: the deaths and resurrections of Tammuz, Adonis, Mithra, Virbius, Attis, and Osiris, and of their various animal representatives . . .are known to every student of comparative religion" would come with some serious qualifiers today.
This isn't necessarily to say that these criticisms cripple Campbell's basic premise, or that these criticisms are even correct, but an introduction addressing these developments by a student or contemporary of Campbell would allow the reader to put more trust in the author when reading the book.
All in all, this method of studying comparative myths and religions has some value. Certainly the mysteries of life and death to which these myths point have some similarities. But if we are to suppose that psychoanalysis is a good tool to examine these similarities (a major assumption in itself), then the tools need to be sharpened a little more to reflect the development of religion and psychoanalysis since the middle of the 20th century.

Campbell was writing at a time when myth-studies were at the forefront of academic speculation; with both the rise of anthropology and psychology and new discourses heavily dependent on world mythology. His insights and epic writing stressed the importance of myth itself as a function of human expression and that the stories themselves were important - not whether or not the stories had historical basis:

"We may doubt whether such a scene ever actually took place. But that would not help us any; for we are concerned, at present, with problems of symbolism, not of historicity. We do not particularly care whether Rip van Winkle, Kamar al-Zaman, or Jesus Christ ever actually lived. Their stories are what concern us: and these stories are so widely distributed over the world - attached to various heroes in various lands - that the question of whether this or that local carrier of the universal theme may or may not have been a historical, living man can be of only secondary moment. The stressing of this historical element will only lead to confusion; it will simply obfuscate the picture message." (197-198)

Campbell represented mythology studies at its most matured; however, by continuing in the tradition of Freud and Jung, he sought only the universal aspects of humanity which gave rise to specific mythological symbols, and was not interested in finding any shared external source for these symbols (such as constellation folklore). Unfortunately, Campbell and myth studies are often seen as dated, no longer relevant outside of specific fields, and easily overlooked. This is especially tragic due to modern society's continuing inability to view its own (religious) myths dispassionately; although we would do well to heed Campbell's comments in this area:

"Wherever the poetry of myth is interpreted as biography, history, or science, it is killed. The living images become only remote facts of a distant time or sky. Furthermore, it is never difficult to demonstrate that as science and history mythology is absurd. When a civilization begins to interpret its mythology in this way, the life goes out of it, temples become museums, and the link between the two perspectives is dissolved. Such a blight has certainly descended on the Bible and on a great part of the Christian cult." (213)

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.

Every religion student should take the time to read this book. I loved it, I can't praise it enough. The linear form of the writing and the method Campbell uses of illistrating his theory through the use of myths from cultures all over the world make it an exceptionally easy to read piece of knowledge and wisdom.

If you want to understand what star wars was all about and who Luke really was, read this book.

If you simply want to expand your knowledge or want a non-fiction book to challenge your thinking, read this book.

The concepts are easily understood, and the book is a very enjoyable read.

First of all, I feel inadequate and unworthy to review this book, but since the store has given me 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 this book's greatness lies in the eternal truths that transcend Campbell's individual personality. He just managed to tap into them- thank God.

The entire book deals with the hero's journey. This is the Monomyth shared by all cultures- and indeed seems to be a direct inspiration from the cosmos itself by way of the collective unconscious. Here we have the eternal cycle of 1) the call to adventure; 2) the crossing of the threshold; 3) the tests, trials, and helpers; 4) the sacred marriage, apotheosis (becoming one with god), or elixir theft; 5)the flight 6) recrossing/ressurection; and 7) the return to society with hard won gifts. He examines all of these elements in depth with a wealth of cross-cultural examples. The first half of the book deals with this cycle on a more individual and personal level (the microcosm), while the second half deals with the greater cosmogonic importance (the macrocosm.)

Now, the really amazing part of all this is that virtually all of it comes across as meaningful, interesting, and totally nonacademic. That's why academic types hate Campbell, and his mentor Jung,- they know that Campbell's and Jung's works will endure and be read a thousand years from now, while their own monographs will be justly forgotten. There are a lot of mediocre Ph.D's out there that can never forget that Campbell never bothered to get a doctorate, because he considered such degrees to be a worthless and meaningless waste of time....

I've read this particular edition three times now- it is well designed and manufactured and has resonable sized print. I've also listened to the entire audio version at least twice- it is well edited and it is very difficult to figure out where exactly it is abridged.

You know how sometimes you are reading and too tired or bored to concentrate and suddenly realize that your mind wandered off for a minute and you didn't take in the last five lines you've just read? And then go back to read those lines again but the same thing happens again?

That's how this entire book feels like. Except in my case it's even worse because i'm listening to it instead of reading.

It covers some deep and very important topics which i want to learn more about, but the way the book is written it's really difficult to absorb

In the Hero with a Thousand Faces Joseph Campbell traces the myths and stories associated with the heroic archetype through all the varied cultures and types, also looking at a psychological viewpoint at times. Very interesting from a storytelling point of view, and at something that resonates so strongly around the world.

All of life is a journey and we our the hero, so learn to see how you are creating the metaphors around you and how to interpret them through the concepts and work of Joseph Campbell. Joseph Campbell understood group consciousness before it became a religion - I appreciate his facts and knowledge behind his work.

This is an extraordinary text. What some of the other reviews suggest is that it is to be avoided if you think it will be an escapist treatise bridging the worlds of myth and fantasy. IF YOU EXPECT THIS TO BE LIKE STAR WARS DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.
It is a journey to your own personal experience, as well as an exploration of the universal experience. It touches on our deepest fears and needs. It says much about our lives, our religions, and our civilisation. It is a sister text to Jung's autobiography. I found it gave me unique insights into my life, in all our heroic voyages, showing myth not to be the realm of fantasy, but of deep psychic truth. If this interests you read this, read Jung, and read The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, by Roberto Calasso.

Campbell takes us through the tragedies, comedies, adventures and redemption that form a common thread through human stories. The archetypes have universal patterns to their struggles, and I began to see a reflection of the paths of Odysseus or Buddha or Jesus in my own life.

Every life is a hero's journey, or can be if we choose to see it that way.

However, while Campbell is obviously deep and brilliant, he can also be a bit wordy and dry.

I have to say that the compilation of myths from throughout the world in this book is both extensive and interesting, but for me the myths as told in this book are missing their original "magic". This might be because the author only narrates fragments of the myths in each chapter (only the part that fits with the sequence of the hero's journey that is being explained) or maybe because by trying to rationalize the content of the myth, its magic dissolves.

I believe that myths arise in our imagination to help us deal with the paradoxes and dualities that all human beings have to face (male/female, good/evil, etc.), maybe more in line with Jung's "archetypes" theory. Campbell prefers to think of myths and the hero's journey they imply, as a means to overcome an unresolved issue with the father (mainly, but sometimes also with the mother), more in the Freudian line. Apparently the hero succeeds only when he acknowledges that he is the same as the father ("He is in him and Him is he" or something put in equally difficult terms). These philosophical/theological views make the reading obscure and difficult and the psychoanalytical mechanisms are also some of the obstacles you will need to overcome on your hero's journey to the end of this book. However Mr. Campbell also includes an explanation of the dualism of good and evil in a multifaceted deity that bears the seed of creation and destruction in itself, which is quite interesting and which might also point in the direction of conflicting dualities.

If you are interested in the origin of myths , you can find a very interesting approach in Origins of the Modern Mind: Three Stages in the Evolution of Culture and Cognition, which includes an extensive chapter called: "From mimetic to mythic culture", although this book does not narrate any myth in itself.

Regarding various myths found in different cultures, I personally enjoyed the first 90% of the The Philosophers' Secret Fire: A History of the Imagination much better. The author probably read Campbell, but his work is more recent and succeeds in transmitting you his passion for mythology. In Mr. Harpur's book you will meet the inhabitants of the "otherworld" - as the author calls them (most probably archetypes living in your Imagination), but according to him, "they will only come to haunt you if you try to destroy their world".

The book is very disrespectful towards Shamans in the very first line you read. It is an old book with old view points, but still it kind of bugs me. So I stopped reading it.
Just wished I clicked the Look inside button before I bought it.
I'm not saying it is a bad book, I mean hey it helped Lucas write Star Wars for crying out loud.
maybe I will still read it, after I edit that part out with a black marker.

Joseph Campbell was one of the great souls of our age. I've read this book twice, first on my own and the second for a class in "Myth, Religion & the Mythic Imagination." I read the paperack to tatters, literally, marking each illuminating, exhilirating insight. "Dry"? "Not a fun read"? What book did YOU read? Campbell is unlike other writers on myth; he looks not at an entire myth but at its parts. By the end of the book, he has essentially created the Ultimate Hero Myth, which takes bits of every hero myth from virtually every culture (heavy on Native Americans). Campbell was not a dispassionate academic--this was his gospel, and he lived by it. This book is alive and inspiring like no other book I know. One unique aspect of it at the time it was published was its approach to Christianity. For Campbell, Christ's life had to be seen as a myth. Before him, most Western scholars wouldn't have dare to say such a thing. Others had written on that, but in a skeptical manner. Campbell's view is that the Virgin Birth, miracles, Resurrection, etc have meaning only because they ARE myths. Look, there'd be no "Star Wars" without this. No "Sandman" comics from Neil Gaiman. No "Watership Down." This book is for the intellectual who wants to LIVE, not just to sit sterile at the desk. Recommended like mad.

Monomyth is seriously an awesome concept. All the shows and movies that I love fit into it extremely well! Nothing follows it perfectly, which of course is expected since it's a general theory. It isn't math, but it's amazing to see how well the guide can be applied to analyze all sorts of media.

Great read, and amazingly eye-opening!

This is Campbell's most important work in which he ingeniously weaves together insights from modern psychology and ancient mythology to provide modern people with guidelines for living a full life by following bliss on the personal hero's journey. First published in 1949, this book became a best seller in 1988 (eventually selling over a million copies) when it served as the subject for the "Power of Myth" PBS television series. George Lucas was inspired by it in creating his Star Wars movies.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces was published en 1969, 37 years ago. This work continues, although, as owing reference for the studies on the importance of the myths in modern societies. This American author, died in 1987, 83 years old, was a pionner on the fight to recognize the survival of myths, with new apparences, in the societies of modern world. He gaves just merits to psychoanalists as Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Otto RAnk, Wilhelm Stekel, the founders of psychoanalysis and he used the Jung's concept of mythological archetypes as basis of his understanding of the heroes. He knowed, notwithstanding, enlarge this concept, with his proposal of a interowen complex adding mythology, folklore and religion, to study and understanding the men's cultures on our days.

At 2004, this book was released, on special features, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the author's birth. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, a psycoanalis with very good place in the United States, writed the Introduction to this new edition in wich figures also the Preface writed by Josep Campbell to the 1949 edition.

Joseph Campbell's great books have been read and reviewed many times. His writings are timeless and need to be read and read again, for a person's own insight changes as they mature in thought and practice. This book is also a suburb example of excellent descriptive writing. When purchased as a CD, you have the extreme pleasure of hearing Joseph Campbell's ability to describe in profound detail - mastered by a skillful writer.

"The Hero With a Thousand Faces" is easily the most widely read, widely praised work of comparative mythology written in the last century. When I first read this several years ago, I thought I'd stumbled onto the meaning of life.

However, after struggling with some of Campbell's observations, and looking at them critically, I've come to see some flaws in the theories expressed in this book. Particularly the monomyth, which is central to all of Campbell's thinking.

Essentially, the monomyth can be summed up as follows: all myths the world over are really all the same at a fundamental level, with the superficial variations on the surface being the most telling. The problem is that, when you really look at what this means, the it amounts to: "all stories have a beginning, middle, and end with a protagonist who does something along the way." Not nearly as earth-shattering as Campbell makes it sound.

Campbell does an excellent job of cross-referencing different themes and archetypes across cultural, historical, and geographical boundaries. He demonstrates very effectively how we, as human beings, are mostly the same the world over, but this doesn't really lead to his mystical, quasi-religious conclusion: that all stories are really an attempt to symoblically grasp and teach us about the power of something forever unknowable but always present. We might all experience this unknowable power, but different people have very different ideas about how to approach and respond to it.

The problem with any archetypical theory like Campbell's is that you can call anything you want an archetype, and then interpret any archetype to mean anything you want it to. That's a major reason why Jungian Depth Psychology and dream interpretation, which Campbell drew on extensively, has fallen out of favor among many contemporary psychologists.

This is still a good, provocative book. Read it if you want to discover some ideas that rear their head the world over, time and again. Read it if you want to see where George Lucas and much of Hollywood cops their plot points and character ideas. Read it if you want to know what Campbell had to say after decades of researching world mythology, which led him to the philosophy of a particular sect of Hinduism. Just don't read it expecting to find the indisputable holy grail.

Rites of passage essential to every epic, every religion's basis: call, refusal, trials, atonement, boon, perilous return, mastery of 2 worlds. Explains how the Good News is common to other religions.

This book is more than just a study for myth. It is a must for all writers, especially screenplay writers. Read not only for to learn how to set your characters on the Hero's Journey, but how to set yourself down the Hero's Path as well.

As the world grows more technical, we lose more and more of our human connection to the divine; we have replaced the mythical with the scientific. Campbell's work is essential for all those who seek an awareness of not only their surroundings, but also the vast human history from which are call forth. We are more than what we are; time and thought has been reductive of man's power. For those who desire, who seek to learn more and question their role in the human drama, this is ESSENTIAL reading. To move ahead as a society and as an individual, we need a return to our souce.

Though Campbell's style is a bit hard to get into, once you commit yourself this will be one of the best reads ever. No book I've ever read has taken me so far into another world. It changed the way I look at the world.

This book is poorly written. It's shockingly bad. The forced incorporation/indoctrination of Freud and Jung is maddening and unnecessary. The author never seems to arrive at a point, which is frustrating because he sets the reader up using an example of some myth or story...but then nothing. By the time he finishes retelling or quoting the story it seems like he has forgotten what he meant to say. Finally the man has a bias for Eastern myths and story's about snakes, foreskin, or snakes eating foreskin. Im approximately 1/3 of the way through the book and I've never yelled at a text as much as I have with this one. It's borderline stream of consciousness at times, while the rest of the time it seems like its an advertisement for Freud or stories about abnormal sexual encounters. It's crap!

After a brief perusal of the other reviewer's of the store, I am forced to conclude that what we have on our hands is a much maligned book. The excuses for giving this book only four stars or lower range from the absurd to the simply misguided. What the reader holds in his or her hands is "the" book for understanding the hero archetype. By writing this book, campbell gave us an understanding of the basic building blocks of stroies. For that is exactly what myths are, stories. A lot of the hostility this book has garnered might come from the idea that Campbell is prostelitizing that the contents of the great religions are myths and that the reader must accept this in order for the book to make sense. While Campbell might not have had a religion, he most certainly did believe in the idea of Monotheism. As to wheather or not he is saying that religous truths are myths in his book, I would point to page 39: The present volume is not concerned with the historical discussion of this circumstance. The Hero with a Thousand Faces is no threat to the Talmud, Koran, or the Gospels.

The academic disapproval stems from the accusation that Campbell's ideas are outmoded. This stems from what Karol Walotya called debilitative reasoning. Which is in essense any kind of thinking that falls away from common sense. It is this type of reasoning which gave us such things as cynicism, pragmatism, and the self-help trend. Indeed, the flaw of modern psychology is that it has all but thrown away the discoveries of C. G. Jung. What it needs now is not a progression, but a regression to Jung's original theories, esp. regarding the archetypes and the collective unconsious, two ideas crucial to this book.

Finally, Campbell had a quote, "Follow Your Bliss." The best comparison that can be made would be Henry David Thereou's admonition that his way of finding hapiness in life might not work for everybody else, therefore, we should find our own happiness and think for ourselves. In life, Campbell followed his bliss, and it was looking at the world through the lens of mythology. At the same time Campbell, like Thereou before him, realized his way of thinking would not be everyone's cup of tea. He therefore made the same admonition. This applies, not only to "Hero," but to all of his works. The reader is invited to have a debate with the book, and not just toady around.

However, Campbell's greatest contribution was to literary criticsism. He woke people up to the fact that stories, the gret ones, are never invented, they simply make themselves.

Despite what several other reviewers here have said, Campbell's style is vibrant and compelling. This is a fun and weighty read. It will change how you look at everything you have read and everything you will read.

All may roads may lead to Rome, but for me, this year, all books seemed to lead to Joseph Campbell's Hero With 1000 Faces.
I have discovered that this book is probably one of the most influential, widely read books of the 20th century. It's no wonder the author, Joseph Campbell, was featured in a Bill Moyers special on The Power of Myth (with an accompanying book, as usual for Bill Moyer's specials.)
I was reading books on writing-- on story structure-- Particularly, Christopher Vogler's excellent Writer's Journey, and it was based on this book. Ironically, I was already reading another of Campbell's series of books on myth. But then I started looking deeper into this realm-- the idea of the Hero's journey, -- the call to adventure, refusing the call, finding a mentor, encountering threshold guardians, crossing the threshold, facing the worst evil, winning the elixir--- and I discovered that dozens of books have been written about the concepts Joseph Campbell first broached.
It's such a powerful idea, and so useful in conceptualizing life's changes. I used it as an element in a presentation I just gave this past weekend on how the art and science of story can be applied to healing and helping people grow. 80% of the people attending the lecture were familiar with the concept.
This is such powerful material, you might consider essential for helping you understand the way movies are made, and how the contemporary world has been affected by advertising and the loss of sacred rituals in everyday life.
One way I gauge a book is by how many marks I make in the margins, to indicate wise ideas or quotable material ( I collect quotes, and quotation books big-time, owning over 400 quotation books) and this book's margins are just packed. The depth of knowledge in mythology and anthropology is awesome, providing a wealth of examples, metaphors, ancient stories and myths which deepen your understanding of human nature. The only problem with this book is how often, in conversations, I've found it to be relevant, whether talking about a friend who is going through some tough times, or someone who is making some changes in his business.
Rob Kall

I personally find Blum's voice grating. His strange enunciation of certain words is particularly annoying. It does have recordings of Campbell lecturing as well. So, if you can get past Blum's voice, it might be worth it to you.

This book is one of the most important works of the 20th century. Inspiration to countless writers, it clearly illustrates the common narrative of the worlds mythology and religions; the common threads of the human unconcious.

When I first read this, the temporal zones were still chiming, and the axis had yet to fall on its side, spitting the massive amounts of time energy. Anyway, so this book helped me write my first screenplay, Nurse Vag. A cross between Reanimator and From Dusk Till Dawn, it's still being sent around, I think. The power of myth is everywhere, as suggested in our genes and dna. If you can mine these myths, you might achieve the level of success that I did, or George Lucas did. This was before the time barriers were broken and the line of temporal shift became unglued. Seriously. Pick this book up. Let the power of myth rule your life, or, wait, if you're already a Christian, don't bother.

The master teacher's words live on... It's amazing how Campbell's writings and teachings gain greater power and meaning over time. I recently watched a library rental tape of the PBS aired talks he did with Bill Moyers in 1987. I now plan to purchase these tapes as well as his books.

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.

Just so you don't get too worked up, the title is a joke.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell is quite often picked up because someone has "discovered" that George Lucas's Star Wars films are based upon Cambell's theories. That is what happened in my case. After reading the book, I came away very unsatisfied. My first problem with the book is that it purports to show that most/all stories fit into a basic structure that is gradually laid out by Campbell, yet the myths and fables that he presents us with do not advance his theory, and in a couple of cases actually contradict it. My second problem is the unusual nature of the myths that Mr. Campbell uses. They are quite often Native American, Indian or Chinese myths that would be unfamiliar to anyone but a specialist in the field. Yes, it is good that he showed good things about other cultures, but it is bad that this interfered with what was supposed to be his main thesis.
If you are looking for an introduction to the theory of archetypes in literature, you would be better served by reading Northrop Frye's Secular Scripture. Or if you want a challenge, you might try Anatomy of Criticism, also by Frye.

its an idea that our stories arnt new, that they come from old dreams. He explores commonality between these stories. Its pretty good and you can see its influence in most films. Its like a psychoanalytic exploration into story. If you are a film maker writer you need it in your vocabulary. How to use it is a different matter. On one hand its important to be aware of things, to be enlightened. On the other we break things down too much to find the original truth, as in language where you are trying to find that transcendental meaning, which does not exist, as in truth can never be one thing it is always dependent on some other meaning.
It is an interesting read.

Were it not for the fact that several prominent individuals (George Lucas, Neil Gaiman) claim to have been influenced by Joseph Campbell, I would say that THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES is book that should never have been written, let alone published. Nevertheless, I continue to be amazed at the number of people who insist that their lives have been changed by this book. Personally, I find it a wrongheaded attempt to present myth and mythology as an historically unified body of work stretching from the ancient Sumerians to the 1940s. This, quite simply, is preposterous notion. Consider a statement Campbell makes on pg. 29 of this edition: "It is the business of mythology proper, and of the fairy tale, to reveal the specific dangers and techniques of the dark interior from tragedy to comedy." Nothing could be further from the truth. As regards the ancient civilizations, mythology filled a religious, not a psychological or philosophical, role. The myths of the ancients (Sumer, Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, etc...) were produced from the need to explain cosmological & natural questions, NOT to investigate "humanness" or to reveal the subconscious. The ancients had no time for that, concerned as they were primarily with survival rather than personal identity. The examples that Campbell uses to promote his view of what he calls "the hero quest" are highly questionable. At a very basic level, he almost NEVER cites his sources for the "myths" to which he refers. The reader has no idea of where Campbell finds his versions. His rendition of the story of Cupid & Psyche is REALLY off the wall. It would be interesting to know from where he got it, or did he just make it up. Second of all, he goes into great detail over what the "hero quest" entails and then uses an example that doesn't fit. His use of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Frog King" is only one example. There is no "call to adventure", "initiation", "transformation", or "return". Yet "The Frog King" is the very FIRST example he uses. More damaging, he tries to draw Jesus and Mohammed into the "hero quest" and both of them, focal points for two of the largest and most important religions in the world, don't fit at all. Nevertheless, Campbell repeatedly asserts that "all" religions fit his model. It's just not so. Additionally, Campbell's short piece on what he calls "the World Navel" is simply laughable. Trying to picture a global belly-button, physical or conceptual, should knock any possibility of taking Campbell seriously right out the window. The "World Navel" is a ludricrous assertion of a bad idea gone wrong. To try to apply 20th century Freudian and Jungian psychoanalysis to the myths & minds of the ancients is clearly useless. To have a section on tragedy & comedy and include only ONE reference to Aristotle reveals either arrogance or carelessness. To attempt to impose a single unified archetype on such a varied body of human imagination trivializes the human mind and its millenial accomplishments. In THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES, Campbell commits all of these offenses and should be justly criticized for them.

I read this book as a recommendation from a friend, supposedly I wasn't going to be able to put it down. While I didn't find the book as difficult to read as some, the writing style is still dry and somewhat unapproachable. I was also told that the underlying ideology of the book was distinctly non-western in tone and content. However, when you scutinize the basic logic of the philosophy that he derives from the observation that many myths are similar in cross-culturally relevant ways, one sees that his concept is essentially Christian in nature.

Campbell asserts, toward the end of the text, that mankind is unified not only to the rest of humanity but to the whole of reality. Somehow he concludes that because many stories originating from many disperate cultures are basically similar man must not be the summation of his parts or the combination of his actions, body, thoughts and deeds. In fact all of the characteristics and actions of man are mere accidents and it is simply the foible of turning away from our underlying unified "essence" toward the dividing ego that causes all of the suffering in the world.

Supposedly this is a non-christian concept, however, if we replace essence with God we see that these two supposedly different ideas are nearly identical. Basic theology asserts that God is one, much like the oneness of Campbell's unifying essence. God is also the ground from which all being arises, much like the fundemental essence of reality to which man and all things are connected, and from which all things are derived. Also, in Christianity man causes suffering in his life by turning from God toward himself, seeking to worship the value of ego over the value of man's connectedness to God. How does this differ from the assertion by Campbell that man cuses much of his own strife by turning away from the fundamental "essence" of all reality toward the purely, transitory, non-eternal, accidental ego which is supposedly only an illusion of who each one of us truly is.

Ultimately it's deep philosophy for a thirteen year old who thinks it's neat to wonder about the coyote eating the rabbit and the coyote dying and decomposing and a plant eating the coyote and then a rabbit eating the plant. Aside from that it's a pretty decent, though biased introduction to world mythology, espesially if you're lazy (like me) and don't intend to actually read most of the myths and stories mentioned in the book.

A sure cure for insomnia this book is. A horrific and dry look at one of the many archetypes pondered in Jungian psychology, do yourself a favor and "follow your bliss" in your pocketbook. Rent the Star Wars Trilogy. It costs less and is far less boring in illustrating the heroes journey.

There is a major problem with Joseph Campbell's works regarding mythology: his claim that there is an overarching mytheme that transcends cultures is demonstrably false. Joseph Campbell is very good at EDITING myths (for example Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) to make it fit HIS mystical beliefs. One would be better served by ordering tapes on mythology supplied by the Teaching Company.
There is a good reason why Sarah Lawrence College refused to accept Joseph Campbell's papers for archival purpuses (and at varience with its policies): his work is regardaded as New Age garbage.

Just so you don't get too worked up, the title is a joke.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell is quite often picked up because someone has "discovered" that George Lucas's Star Wars films are based upon Cambell's theories. That is what happened in my case. After reading the book, I came away very unsatisfied. My first problem with the book is that it purports to show that most/all stories fit into a basic structure that is gradually laid out by Campbell, yet the myths and fables that he presents us with do not advance his theory, and in a couple of cases actually contradict it. My second problem is the unusual nature of the myths that Mr. Campbell uses. They are quite often Native American, Indian or Chinese myths that would be unfamiliar to anyone but a specialist in the field. Yes, it is good that he showed good things about other cultures, but it is bad that this interfered with what was supposed to be his main thesis.
If you are looking for an introduction to the theory of archetypes in literature, you would be better served by reading Northrop Frye's Secular Scripture. Or if you want a challenge, you might try Anatomy of Criticism, also by Frye.

its an idea that our stories arnt new, that they come from old dreams. He explores commonality between these stories. Its pretty good and you can see its influence in most films. Its like a psychoanalytic exploration into story. If you are a film maker writer you need it in your vocabulary. How to use it is a different matter. On one hand its important to be aware of things, to be enlightened. On the other we break things down too much to find the original truth, as in language where you are trying to find that transcendental meaning, which does not exist, as in truth can never be one thing it is always dependent on some other meaning.
It is an interesting read.

Were it not for the fact that several prominent individuals (George Lucas, Neil Gaiman) claim to have been influenced by Joseph Campbell, I would say that THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES is book that should never have been written, let alone published. Nevertheless, I continue to be amazed at the number of people who insist that their lives have been changed by this book. Personally, I find it a wrongheaded attempt to present myth and mythology as an historically unified body of work stretching from the ancient Sumerians to the 1940s. This, quite simply, is preposterous notion. Consider a statement Campbell makes on pg. 29 of this edition: "It is the business of mythology proper, and of the fairy tale, to reveal the specific dangers and techniques of the dark interior from tragedy to comedy." Nothing could be further from the truth. As regards the ancient civilizations, mythology filled a religious, not a psychological or philosophical, role. The myths of the ancients (Sumer, Egypt, Babylonia, Greece, etc...) were produced from the need to explain cosmological & natural questions, NOT to investigate "humanness" or to reveal the subconscious. The ancients had no time for that, concerned as they were primarily with survival rather than personal identity. The examples that Campbell uses to promote his view of what he calls "the hero quest" are highly questionable. At a very basic level, he almost NEVER cites his sources for the "myths" to which he refers. The reader has no idea of where Campbell finds his versions. His rendition of the story of Cupid & Psyche is REALLY off the wall. It would be interesting to know from where he got it, or did he just make it up. Second of all, he goes into great detail over what the "hero quest" entails and then uses an example that doesn't fit. His use of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Frog King" is only one example. There is no "call to adventure", "initiation", "transformation", or "return". Yet "The Frog King" is the very FIRST example he uses. More damaging, he tries to draw Jesus and Mohammed into the "hero quest" and both of them, focal points for two of the largest and most important religions in the world, don't fit at all. Nevertheless, Campbell repeatedly asserts that "all" religions fit his model. It's just not so. Additionally, Campbell's short piece on what he calls "the World Navel" is simply laughable. Trying to picture a global belly-button, physical or conceptual, should knock any possibility of taking Campbell seriously right out the window. The "World Navel" is a ludricrous assertion of a bad idea gone wrong. To try to apply 20th century Freudian and Jungian psychoanalysis to the myths & minds of the ancients is clearly useless. To have a section on tragedy & comedy and include only ONE reference to Aristotle reveals either arrogance or carelessness. To attempt to impose a single unified archetype on such a varied body of human imagination trivializes the human mind and its millenial accomplishments. In THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES, Campbell commits all of these offenses and should be justly criticized for them.

I read this book as a recommendation from a friend, supposedly I wasn't going to be able to put it down. While I didn't find the book as difficult to read as some, the writing style is still dry and somewhat unapproachable. I was also told that the underlying ideology of the book was distinctly non-western in tone and content. However, when you scutinize the basic logic of the philosophy that he derives from the observation that many myths are similar in cross-culturally relevant ways, one sees that his concept is essentially Christian in nature.

Campbell asserts, toward the end of the text, that mankind is unified not only to the rest of humanity but to the whole of reality. Somehow he concludes that because many stories originating from many disperate cultures are basically similar man must not be the summation of his parts or the combination of his actions, body, thoughts and deeds. In fact all of the characteristics and actions of man are mere accidents and it is simply the foible of turning away from our underlying unified "essence" toward the dividing ego that causes all of the suffering in the world.

Supposedly this is a non-christian concept, however, if we replace essence with God we see that these two supposedly different ideas are nearly identical. Basic theology asserts that God is one, much like the oneness of Campbell's unifying essence. God is also the ground from which all being arises, much like the fundemental essence of reality to which man and all things are connected, and from which all things are derived. Also, in Christianity man causes suffering in his life by turning from God toward himself, seeking to worship the value of ego over the value of man's connectedness to God. How does this differ from the assertion by Campbell that man cuses much of his own strife by turning away from the fundamental "essence" of all reality toward the purely, transitory, non-eternal, accidental ego which is supposedly only an illusion of who each one of us truly is.

Ultimately it's deep philosophy for a thirteen year old who thinks it's neat to wonder about the coyote eating the rabbit and the coyote dying and decomposing and a plant eating the coyote and then a rabbit eating the plant. Aside from that it's a pretty decent, though biased introduction to world mythology, espesially if you're lazy (like me) and don't intend to actually read most of the myths and stories mentioned in the book.

A sure cure for insomnia this book is. A horrific and dry look at one of the many archetypes pondered in Jungian psychology, do yourself a favor and "follow your bliss" in your pocketbook. Rent the Star Wars Trilogy. It costs less and is far less boring in illustrating the heroes journey.

There is a major problem with Joseph Campbell's works regarding mythology: his claim that there is an overarching mytheme that transcends cultures is demonstrably false. Joseph Campbell is very good at EDITING myths (for example Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) to make it fit HIS mystical beliefs. One would be better served by ordering tapes on mythology supplied by the Teaching Company.
There is a good reason why Sarah Lawrence College refused to accept Joseph Campbell's papers for archival purpuses (and at varience with its policies): his work is regardaded as New Age garbage.

As someone who loves reading and studying myths, folktales, sagas, epics, etc. from around the world (and as someone who enjoyed reading Campbell's thoughts regarding the "Sacred" and "Profane"), I expected that I would have little but high praise for this book; in fact, I was quite excited to begin reading it. However, having finished reading The Hero with a Thousand Faces, I find myself slightly confused at why the book is so highly regarded. I don't want to spend a lot of time writing this--my goal is not to "pick on" the text (although I will admit that I am highly critical of it), merely to prevent disappointment in readers with expectations like my own--so I will list things.

--As other reviewers have noted, Campbell relies heavily on Freud, Jung, etc. Even though I am not terribly fond of psychoanalytic readings (I respect literary psychoanalysis as a valid interpretive model, but have mixed feelings on its use), I actually thought that Campbell's relating myths/tales to dreams and everyday symbology was one of the highlights of the text and was indeed quite clever (although not wholly original). Nonetheless, I felt that Campbell too often adduces the arbitrary dreams of unknown, everyday people as evidence for his claims: firstly, there are millions upon millions of people experiencing dreams each day, so to support any argument based on a handful of dreams (even if they are in many ways archetypal) seems imprudent at best; secondly, his interpretations of the dreams are very monochromatic, i.e. he explains them as clear-cut, black-and-white representations of his expostulations. His symbols, I think, are too one-to-one and "clean" to be convincing.

--Many of Campbell's claims are not justified. He draws vast generalizations and then attempts to explain them by supplying a thin selection of specific tales, often giving his own interpretation of them without any explanation as to how this interpretation was arrived at--e.g. he will state, "So-and-so (the Buddha, Saint Peter, King Arthur, etc.) here represents the such-and-such of my theory"; I often did not see why so-and-so represented--or at least had to represent--this such-and-such. (One might argue that the interpretation he suggests was "arrived at" by means of his overarching system, but this only suggests a petito principii: he arrived at his interpretation by means of his system, and arrived at his system by . . . these interpretations?) Likewise, even tales that seemingly contradict or otherwise problematize his readings/theory are either ignored in favor of his own interpretation or merely appended into his theory as if it were a natural progression. (For example, part of Campbell read something like this to me: 'So the hero accepts his adventure--or . . . er . . . he sometimes denies it, too, and then bad things happen. But sometimes not--sometimes it's best to deny the call of adventure, because this is foolishness and the call belongs to a true hero. But now let me talk about this foolish Prince of Five Weapons who oh so foolishly entered the forest and then foolishly . . . wait, wait, no, I forgot, he wasn't entirely foolish, he ended up succeeding because he had an inner strength, so yeah, the moral is that true heroes aren't just physically adept but psychologically/emotionally/spiritually as well! Just like I said!')

--Even though his claims are not justified and are often based on dangerous generalizations, to me they are (surprisingly enough) not very impressive claims. The structure of his monomyth is anything but original and exciting; rather, it seems like the same vague wisdom one can find in a fortune cookie. The fundamental structure of a myth, according to Campbell, is "birth, initiation, and return". However, to me this is suspiciously similar to a whole host of other, more obvious triads: birth, life, death; beginning, middle, end; problem, journey, resolution; failure, hard work, success, etc. I think that it is easy to fit any myth or folktale into a triadic reading of this sort because it is so general as to be virtually useless. What, exactly, does this triad help to explain? (I understand that an essential part of Campbell's argument is that myth mirrors the thoughts and the entire cycle of life of mankind, but to me this triad is artificially scholarly, a bit excessive, and very arbitrary.) Though the more in-depth discussions of life/death/rebirth paralleled in a mother(/father) figure and of the unknown/unconscious forming a unity with the known world/consciousness are perhaps interesting to those "uninitiated" into the general mysteries of myth, they hardly make up for what I consider to be a lackluster approach.

In sum: anyone who has read a considerable amount of myths/folktales/epics can probably deduce much of what Campbell asserts--especially if one has any experience in Critical Theory/Freud. Similarly, anyone looking for a serious, profound analysis of the genre should turn elsewhere. For those less familiar with the genre or with literary interpretation in general, Campbell might be an enlightening read/introduction.

another awesome book referred to me by bryan callen. the book is a little dense for my liking, but I know this is only because I know I need to brush up on my vocabulary and stop playing call of duty all the time.

a truly great book for writers and others. If you read this you can really understand why we need story and that happiness comes from the difficult things in life - not the easy. I will never play the lottery in my life again :)

I may be alone among many intellectuals who read a book like this merely for informational or intellectual purposes. I read this book as a study in the journey of the hero, to better arm myself in the art of storytelling as a writer. If you want a study of mythology and the psychoanalysis of its symbolism, this book is for you. But I personally found this book to be a somewhat veiled attempt at religious universalism. Trying somehow to unite the various myths and world religions under one singular philosophy.

As a practicing Christian myself, I find any idea of reducing my faith and the teachings of the scriptures to mere fable offesive. As I am sure any devotee of any other religion would as well. Having spent many years in deep study of the revelations in the Bible and spiritaul intimacy with the Lord, I know first hand that his interpretation of many symbols in scripture have a great deal of validity, but his understanding of the God of Christianity, as well as many of the professed followers of Jesus, are superficial at best. I would suggest to anyone who truly wants a better understanding of true biblical Christianity should read anything by Rick Joyner such as There Were Two Trees in the Garden and The Journey Begins. For myself these are much better at describing the true hero's journey, as seen from a Chrisitian viewpoint.

The table of contents is the best part of the book. It outlines the stages a hero goes through on the path to enlightment, and agrees with our intuitions of how a hero develops.

The main problem is that Campbell uses Freud and Jung to justify his theory of the hero. These theories are outdated and make it very difficult for anyone trained in psychology to take seriously. Moreover, the writing style is boring and the long examples combined with Freudian analyses belabor points and make the book drag on longer than it should.

I like Joseph Campbell and I find his theories regarding myth, etc to be right on. However, this book sucks. It is terribly written. At first, I though maybe it was me... so I took the book down to a local coffee house and read some of it at an outdoor table. I thought maybe hanging out with some mock intellectual types might make it work for me better. Nope. Didn't work. Still sucked. Soooo, I went over to the area university and sat down to read on a bench. I even put on a brown wool blazer and some stupid looking socks. I thought maybe that would help me appreciate the book. Nope, that didn't work either. As a last resort, I stopped wearing deodorant and started drinking scotch. No luck.

In the end, I guess it was just me. Perhaps I just don't have an appreciation for a book drafted in the form of an outline with the pages filled up with a litany of random myths. I got my GED, so it's not like I haven't read a book or two. I bet I read at least three books in one year once... and that was a few years ago and I've read even more books since then. Maybe Campbell is just focusing two much on old myths and not new myths - like Spiderman and Superman. I think that would be more interesting.

After hearing about how so many writers were influenced by this work, I figured I'd take a look. And I just...don't get it. This thing is pretentious and bloated; it's full of metaphysics and discredited Freudian and Jungian psychology. It makes no attempt to connect with the reader; it just rambles on and reprints obscure myths and legends that have no real bearing on the subject of the book. I don't understand how anyone could find this book influential, or even coherent.

This should be the most interesting book ever written - after all, it purports to summarize myths across cultures with a mononmyth theory as the unifying force. The problem is in the execution, and probably the underlying theory, which is certainly out-dated. Campbell writes poorly. He is hard NOT to put down. And so, alas, as with earlier editions, I could not even plod through this tome. It is useless to my understanding of the world.

This is one of these books that I would love to pretend to have read and enjoyed. Alas, pretending is not my forte. I would read this book only if I were forced to. Try the Christopher Vogler version instead.

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.

This book isn't very good-the author is very naive and needs to take notes from C.S. Lewis-a fellow whom shared the same degree and taught the same classes. Joseph Campbell is no good... read C.S. Lewis.

So, I've been meaning to read The Hero With A Thousand Faces for a long time, but only recently got around to it. Campbell's writing is pretty dry, and I'll admit that it was a bit of a struggle for me to read. At one point I lost my copy (under a pile of laundry), and thought I'd never finish it. Once I found it though, I kept pushing, and finally got through it. Just so you don't waste your time reading it *spoiler alert*: it's not actually about it a shapeshifter. It's just some dumb book. One star.

Overall, I think that the information presented is well-researched and articulated grandly. There’s no doubt that Joseph Campbell was vital in what has become a popular understanding of the hero’s quest. I give him credit for moving beyond the Western canon in his examples, something which many scholars still fail to do. In fact, the only other academic I have encountered who effectively presents a multicultural view of the hero’s journey is Robert Cochran, my former World Epics professor.

While not my primary focus, I found the section on the cosmogenic cycle intriguing. Again, much of the information is common knowledge at this point, at least for those who regularly read or teach literature. One thing that struck me is timing; this book was originally compiled in 1949, near the end of the golden age of comics. Characters such as Captain America and Superman, whom most scholars recognize as allegories for Christ, follow the cosmogenic cycle almost exactly. Whether or not comic book authors made use of Campbell’s research, it’s clear that they shared an understanding of how a hero is formed and the journey all heroes must take.

Perhaps the beauty of Campbell’s structure with this collected work is that one can essentially lay it over top of modern hero stories and track plot lines. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Alice stories and the Narnia series all begin with metaphorical rebirths, move along the hero’s journey toward transformation and end with dissolutions. In that regard, Campbell’s discussion may no longer be novel, but it is timeless. The information he lays out can be applied to everything from the Mahabharata to the Bible to Iron Man.

So, I've been meaning to read The Hero With A Thousand Faces for a long time, but only recently got around to it. Campbell's writing is pretty dry, and I'll admit that it was a bit of a struggle for me to read. At one point I lost my copy (under a pile of laundry), and thought I'd never finish it. Once I found it though, I kept pushing, and finally got through it. Just so you don't waste your time reading it *spoiler alert*: it's not actually about it a shapeshifter. It's just some dumb book. One star.