Customer Reviews

An Open Life: Joseph Campbell in conversation with Michael Toms

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Michael Toms in his introduction to this book states that Campbell "possessed the rare gift of distilling wisdom from a bottomless well of information and knowledge". I would agree and add further that it was also Michael Tom's own high level of knowledge and (more importantly) his warm and genial personality that make this series of interviews more like a fireside dialogue.

Campbell was (and still is) considered one of the greatest scholars of mythology possessing a blazing and intuitive mind. That he was able to communicate his specialist knowledge with an attitude of joy and fun is remarkable. These conversations are also available via audio file, where Campbell's Homeric laugh is a tonic, and Tom's gentle tones are a pleasure. Making fertile work of such topics as literature, philosophy, politics, religion, love, and the great angst of humanity - the meaning of life - this book never preaches, is devoid of dogma and is a pure joy to read.

I recommend it to anyone.

I love to listen to Joseph Campbell, and this book is the next best thing to that. The questions are insighful, and of course Joseph is as relevant today as when he was interviewed. This book includes conversations over many sittings and a great many interesting topics.

Michael Toms' conversation with Joseph Campbell holds up well and provides a wide-ranging exploration of Campbell's evolving views on spirituality and development. Campbell was truly a remarkable and extraordinary human being who followed his bliss all his life and was willing to share his insights.
This title is a classic for anyone who has any interest in Joseph Campbell's work.

This is a great companion for anyone whom liked that enjoyed the interviews with Bill Moyers. This is a good starter book for introducing friends, colleagues, family to Joseph Campbell, as it is not dense, but sparks a lot of curiosity.

Joseph Campbell is most known for his conception of the mythic hero. In this set of interviews he presents himself as a kind of mythic hero, an adventurer who goes off into the unknown, contends with the contradicting forces and makes his own story. Campbell prides himself on having the courage to do it his own way and not follow some conventional , more ordinary way of life. He speaks a great deal about the subject of Archetypes and Myth, and shows his close affinity to Jungian rather than Freudian conceptions of human culture. He stresses the importance of those themes, those Myths which pervade in his view all cultures. He does this in a clear if nonetheless quite humorless and sober way. He does not really provide close information about his own personal story. For this reason I did not find that the book did the kind of biographical job which would really show the singularity of the individual in question.