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

Campbell, Joseph

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1577315936 ISBN 13: 9781577315933

Publisher: New World Library, 2008

Since its release in 1949, The Hero with a Thousand Faces has influenced millions of readers by combining the insights of modern psychology with Joseph Campbell’s revolutionary understanding of comparative mythology. In these pages, Campbell outlines the Hero’s Journey, a universal motif of adventure and transformation that runs through virtually all of the world’s mythic traditions. He also explores the Cosmogonic Cycle, the mythic pattern of world creation and destruction.

As part of the Joseph Campbell Foundation’s Collected Works of Joseph Campbell, this third edition features expanded illustrations, a comprehensive bibliography, and more accessible sidebars.

As relevant today as when it was first published, The Hero with a Thousand Faces continues to find new audiences in fields ranging from religion and anthropology to literature and film studies. The book has also profoundly influenced creative artists including authors, songwriters, game designers, and filmmakers and continues to inspire all those interested in the inherent human need to tell stories.

Review:

Originally written by Campbell in the '40s-- in his pre-Bill Moyers days -- and famous as George Lucas' inspiration for "Star Wars," this book will likewise inspire any writer or reader in its well considered assertion that while all stories have already been told, this is *not* a bad thing, since the *retelling* is still necessary. And while our own life's journey must always be ended alone, the travel is undertaken in the company not only of immediate loved ones and primal passion, but of the heroes and heroines -- and myth-cycles -- that have preceded us.

From the Inside Flap:

"I have returned to no book more often since leaving college than this one, and every time I discover new insight into the human journey. Every generation will find in Hero wisdom for the ages."--Bill Moyers, host of the PBS special 'The Power of Myth'

"In the three decades since I discovered The Hero with a Thousand Faces, it has continued to fascinate and inspire me. Joseph Campbell peers through centuries and shows us that we are all connected by a basic need to hear stories and understand ourselves. As a book, it is wonderful to read; as illumination into the human condition, it is a revelation."--George Lucas, filmmaker, creator of the movie 'Star Wars'

• Publisher: New World Library
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1577315936
• ISBN 13: 9781577315933
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 432