Customer Reviews

Once and Future Myths: The Power of Ancient Stories in Modern Times

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I enjoyed this book because of its wide-ranging subjects...the way he related baseball to Paris to philosophy to food to Easter Island to...etc. I thought his first chapter on the myth of Sisyphus worked the best. I was expecting each chapter to be related to some Greek or other classic myth, and how that myth resonates in our modern lives, but this is not what he did, except for that 1st chapter. Nevertheless, a good, thought-provoking book, not overly New-Agey.

In Once And Future Myths: The Power Of Ancient Stories In Modern Times, author Phil Cousinaeu, (a longtime student and colleague of Joseph Campbell) views mythology as a living phenomenon with immediate impact in daily human life. Through understanding the nature of mythical stories, Cousinaeu explains, we are better able to understand what drives us to work, love, create, and dream. Integrating psychology, history, and mythology into a unified gem of insight, Once And Future Myths includes such topics as "How the Myth of Time that we are living determines our quality of life" and "How the Myth of Creative Struggle teaches us to embrace failure as a learning experience." Once And Future Myths speaks directly to the human need to find meaning to our lives.

This book changed my life. The chapter on Sisyphus alone (a metaphor for the creative struggle) was worth the price of admission. Phil Cousineau weaves endearing personal stories throughout the sharp scholarship as a means to ease us into feeling comfortable with the many complex (yet surprising) ideas about myth (classical, world, modern, popular) he shares with us. It's not about him though, it's really about finding our own stories, our own personal myths. And figuring out what is truly meaningful for us no matter where we are in our lives. Through stories about relationships, travel, sports, music, time, and countless other ways and associations, he clues us in to what deeper issues lie under the surface of things. It's not a breezy read; Cousineau has an amazing way of linking diverse subjects and finding correspondences amongst odd topics that may meander but are always delightful. A world-traveler, tortured writer, devoted father, sports fan, and humble wise man rolled up in one, Cousineau inspires us to reach for more. Highly recommended.

Read this book to find insight into your own life story. And to Phil Cousineau, "myth" is "story." An independent scholar and veteran traveler, Cousineau has written 14 books, made 12 documentary films, and has studied and taught with many great thinkers of our times -- including his mentor, mythologist Joseph Campbell. All this learning and creating has poised Cousineau to be able to reflect on life and its mythic dimensions for people today. He shows how myth is the "overpowering story" that explains different aspects of our lives (we usually have more than one going on at a time), which has the potential to be creative or destructive. He asks himself, and challenges readers to ask "What myth is at work here and now?" "What sacred story is driving me to do what I do, believe what I do, go where I go?" It's filled with poignant personal stories, anecdotes, and insights from ancient classical myths--from Sisyphus to Sinatra! You'll be thoroughly absorbed by this book. Read on!

People who say that a book was "not what I expected" are unfair. After all, an author can hardly be faulted for other people's expectations. In this case, however, the expectations were raised by the author himself. I began by reading chapter 2, an outstanding, thought-provoking chapter on the myths of time. I bought the book on the strength of this chapter, and ended up sorely disappointed. The rest of the book is far less compelling, and often is annoyingly self-focused. Cousineau's recitals of all the important people he has met and known in the great places he has visited work neither as a good memoir nor as a good book on myth (although, in fairness, there are a number of worthwhile passages and a few excellent ones).

Riding on the vapor trail of his association with Joseph Campbell, Phil Cousineau has written anther book that is lifeless and wholly academic. Everything that he covers in the book is valid and valuable, but he name drops so much that I can't even get a feel for who he is as a person, as a researcher or as a mythologist. Is he trying to dazzle the reader with his arcane references, or is he really trying to get us to examine the mythic concepts that he presents? There is no doubt that he is a bright man. A very bright man, but I feel that the readers of this book would be better served if Mr. Cousineau used lees brains and more heart.