Myths to Live By (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more



or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Start reading Myths to Live By (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

Myths to Live By [Paperback]

Joseph Campbell , Johnson E. Fairchild
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)

List Price: $17.00
Price: $13.62 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $3.38 (20%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it Friday, June 21? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $5.99  
Hardcover --  
Paperback $13.62  
Mass Market Paperback --  
Summer Reading
Summer Reading
Browse the best books of summer including blockbusters, beach reads, and editors' picks in our Summer Reading Store.

Book Description

February 1, 1993
What is a properly functioning mythology and what are its functions? Can we use myths to help relieve our modern anxiety, or do they help foster it? In Myths to Live by, Joseph Campbell explores the enduring power of the universal myths that influence our lives daily and examines the myth-making process from the primitive past to the immediate present, retuning always to the source from which all mythology springs: the creative imagination.

Campbell stresses that the borders dividing the Earth have been shattered; that myths and religions have always followed the certain basic archetypes and are no longer exclusive to a single people, region, or religion. He shows how we must recognize their common denominators and allow this knowledge to be of use in fulfilling human potential everywhere.


Frequently Bought Together

Myths to Live By + The Hero with a Thousand Faces (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) + The Power of Myth
Price for all three: $42.44

Buy the selected items together


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joseph Campbell was interested in mythology since his childhood in New York, when he read books about American Indians, frequently visited the American Museum of Natural History, and was fascinated by the museum's collection of totem poles. He earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees at Columbia in 1925 and 1927 and went on to study medieval French and Sanskrit at the universities of Paris and Munich. After a period in California, where he encountered John Steinbeck and the biologist Ed Ricketts, he taught at the Canterbury School, then, in 1934, joined the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College, a post he retained for many years. During the 1940s and '50s, he helped Swami Nikhilananda to translate the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. The many books by Professor Campbell include The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Myths to Live By, The Flight of the Wild Gander, and The Mythic Image. He edited The Portable Arabian Nights, The Portable Jung, and other works. He died in 1987.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Books (February 1, 1993)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0140194614
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140194616
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,216 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joseph Campbell was an American author and teacher best known for his work in the field of comparative mythology. He was born in New York City in 1904, and from early childhood he became interested in mythology. He loved to read books about American Indian cultures, and frequently visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where he was fascinated by the museum's collection of totem poles. Campbell was educated at Columbia University, where he specialized in medieval literature, and continued his studies at universities in Paris and Munich. While abroad he was influenced by the art of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, the novels of James Joyce and Thomas Mann, and the psychological studies of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. These encounters led to Campbell's theory that all myths and epics are linked in the human psyche, and that they are cultural manifestations of the universal need to explain social, cosmological, and spiritual realities.
After a period in California, where he encountered John Steinbeck and the biologist Ed Ricketts, he taught at the Canterbury School, and then, in 1934, joined the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College, a post he retained for many years. During the 40s and '50s, he helped Swami Nikhilananda to translate the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. He also edited works by the German scholar Heinrich Zimmer on Indian art, myths, and philosophy. In 1944, with Henry Morton Robinson, Campbell published A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake. His first original work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, came out in 1949 and was immediately well received; in time, it became acclaimed as a classic. In this study of the "myth of the hero," Campbell asserted that there is a single pattern of heroic journey and that all cultures share this essential pattern in their various heroic myths. In his book he also outlined the basic conditions, stages, and results of the archetypal hero's journey.
Throughout his life, he traveled extensively and wrote prolifically, authoring many books, including the four-volume series The Masks of God, Myths to Live By, The Inner Reaches of Outer Space and The Historical Atlas of World Mythology. Joseph Campbell died in 1987. In 1988, a series of television interviews with Bill Moyers, The Power of Myth, introduced Campbell's views to millions of people.

Customer Reviews

Myths to Live By is, I believe, Joseph Campbell's finest single volume book for the lay public. master solrac  |  19 reviewers made a similar statement
He suggests creation myths and myths about love and war and peace contain the essence of the truth. Dianne Foster  |  3 reviewers made a similar statement
I read this book while on a cruise, and found myself spending a lot of time reading. Kenneth G. Ramey  |  6 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
168 of 172 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Womb with a view.... April 13, 2002
Format:Paperback
MYTHS TO LIVE BY consists of a dozen essays/talks Joseph Campbell prepared between 1961 and 1971. He described the period as a "new age" where "..we are...participating in one of the very greatest leaps of the human spirit to a knowledge not only of outside nature but also of our own deep inward mystery."

At the time he wrote these essays, Campbell was a professor on a campus, surrounded by young people whom he found hard to understand at times. For example, in his essay "The Moon Walk--the Outward Journey" he relates his own feelings of awe on viewing the Apollo moon landing and contrasts them with the reaction of a student who wrote "So What" on a photo of the moon landing posted on a campus bulletin board. In another essay "Schizophrenia--the Inward Journey" he contrasts the use of mind-altering drugs by shamans and psychotics (including the LSD induced version) as the difference between divers and non-swimmers in "the waters of the unviersal archetypes of mythology."

I find Campbell's essays are very relevant, 30 years later. The most obvious example is "Mythologies of War and Peace" which addresses the underlying belief systems of participants in the Mideast crises. Campbell says the cruel fact is that "killing is the precondition of all living whatsoever: life lives on life, eats life, and would not otherwise exist...it is the nations, tribes, and peoples bred to mythologies of war that have survived to communicate their life-supporting mythic lore to descendents." He suggests that "we" in the West "have been bred to one of the most brutal war mythologies of all time." He then goes on to cite Deuteronomy and Isaiah and follows with excerpts from the Koran such as Sura 2, verse 216.."Fighting is prescribed for you....

Campbell does not condemn myths nor does he say myths are not literally true. He suggests creation myths and myths about love and war and peace contain the essence of the truth. Myths are to humans what kangaroo pouches are to baby kangaroos, they provide a "womb with a view." Being born simply isn't enough. We need myths to help us organize and guide our lives. However, our current myths arose in another era and were shaped by tribal mentalities that sustain the notion of GROUP differences. We need new myths for the journey of life. Read more ›

Was this review helpful to you?
195 of 203 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The best of all Joseph Campbells books November 2, 1998
Format:Paperback
I read this book while on a cruise, and found myself spending a lot of time reading. Of all his works, this is the most down to earth. The others are too 'professorial' as if intended to impress, while this one simply lays it on the line. Psychology and mythology relate to each other very nicely, as Mr. Campbell realized when asked to share his concepts with those of a Psychologist. Jung was a favorite because of his concept of Universal Mind. Contrary to what might be thought, the book is not anti-religious, but it does explode particular Christian beliefs. Rather, it reveals the Universal meaning of 'life' which each community resolves in its own way, frequently as not, in similar ways. Boil away the variety of customs, etc.,and you have the essence of Joseph Campbell's work, and a better appreciation of man's universal mind.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
85 of 89 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Campbell's Ancient Themes Live Here and Now March 20, 1998
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Campbell selected and compiled a selection of a talks on mythology from a series of discussions that he delivered between 1958 and 1971. There is an academic quality about his style, but this will not be a barrier to most people who enjoying thinking and reflecting about what humans share in beliefs. The ancient mythic themes come alive as he weaves the observations of 20th Century everyday living with flashbacks of times ago. He storytells and teaches using 13 broad topics such as love, the beginnings of Humankind, War and Peace, schizophrenia, and the moon walk. Campbell's text reads as if he is in your home; quite possibly having a glass of wine; discussing love relationships in the theater of Life; balancing the ideas of such people as St. Paul, Shaw, Sarte, Persian poets, Buddha, and Lord Krishna. He is at his strongest in his chapters on journeys: inward and outward. A word of caution: Your mind's ear will be listening to a Master Teacher. If you liked Bill Moyer's interview with Campbell, you will appreciate Campbell's theme choices and style. His art of making sense of human potential and challenging its boundaries is a stimulating reflective exercise.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
38 of 38 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Our own, and the world's, divine ground April 14, 2005
Format:Paperback
I am glad that I finally got around to reading this collection of Campbell's lectures delivered between 1958 and 1971. Since they deal with eternal subject matter there is little chance of them being "dated." The common theme running through them all is the deep power of myth on the inner, spiritual lives of human beings throughout the ages. This includes our own age, whether we personally want to admit or recognize it.

The Lectures include:

1) The Impact of Science on Myth (1961),

2) The Emergence of Mankind (1966),

3) The Importance of Rites (1964),

4) The Separation of East and West (1961),

5) The Confrontation of East and West in Religion (1970)

6) The Inspiration of Oriental Art (1958),

7) Zen (1969),

8) The Mythology of Love (1967),

9) Mythologies of War and Peace (1967),

10) Schizophrenia- the Inward Journey (1970),

11) The Moon Walk- The Outer Journey (1970),

12) Envoy: No More Horizons (1971),

The reader will recognize much of the subject matter from the later talks with Bill Moyers in the "Power of Myth" series. All in all there is enough material covered to make this an excellent introduction to myth, true spirituality, and depth psychology.

One of the topics that stuck with me was the fundamental difference in the nature of religion in the East, the Near East, and the West. Traditional Eastern societies were seen as governed by one great cosmic law through which all members were seen to draw their purpose, their worth, their meaning. God was in all things and the divine spark was in all individuals. Union with the divine was possible to those that transcended their ego.
... Read more ›
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars this book will get you thinking....
I am a skeptic of all religion. I am looking for THE religion and I don't see it in any organized religion. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Robert Ceivers
5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptionally Deep, Yet Understandable
Man is a storytelling animal who gains his sense of identity and purpose from the stories that are handed down to him from his society. Read more
Published 5 days ago by C. Hampton
5.0 out of 5 stars Myths are Truth
There are few authors today who can match Joseph Campbell's combination of scholarly discourse and its application to our lives. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Dorothy Nyman
5.0 out of 5 stars Makes the Myth of life that more precious
I have read of myths and legends all my life. Mr. Campbell is way above my rating him, but I enjoyed so much his descriptions of comparable religions;myths of the soul, the wonder... Read more
Published 14 days ago by Maureen Pollock
4.0 out of 5 stars Open your heart to a wider view
Campbell asks us to let go of rigid belief systems and instead embrace core attributes that connect us [humans] with creator [God]. Read more
Published 1 month ago by frank martinez
5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening
The human experience, through the ages and across all cultures , is bound by strikingly common themes. Read more
Published 3 months ago by L. Reed
5.0 out of 5 stars Myths to Live By
I was lucky enough to meet Joseph Campbell in the 1980s when he lectured at Salve Regina in Newport, Rhode Island. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Paul Williamson
4.0 out of 5 stars Kindle 3G
Most were likeable. The best item I've received was the Kindle 3G which was not a part of these 10 items.
Published 4 months ago by Richard L. Smith Jr.
5.0 out of 5 stars A book to live by
I know that Joseph Campbell speaks against adopting a guru in this book. But he is as close to a personal guru as I have found (aside from some others, like Carl Jung, Thomas... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Veronika
5.0 out of 5 stars Can't go wrong with Joseph C.
Joseph Campbell may have died a while ago, but he truly lives on through his books and writings. There truly is no one more special.
Published 4 months ago by Michelle
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews



Books on Related Topics (learn more)

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Forums

There are no discussions about this product yet.
Be the first to discuss this product with the community.
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 





Look for Similar Items by Category