Flight of the Wild Gander: Explorations in the Mythological Dimension: Select Essays, 1944-1968 (Hardcover)

by Joseph Campbell (Author) "Frau Katherina Viehmann (1755-1815) was about fifty-five when the young Grimm brothers discovered her..." (more)
Key Phrases: hieratic city state, wild gander, absolutely unknowable, Black Elk, Çatal Hüyük, Wakan Tanka (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In these essays, Joseph Campbell explores the origins of myth and their role in everyday life — from Grimm fairy tales to Native American legends. He explains how the symbolic content of myth is linked to universal human experience and how myths and experiences change over time. Included is his acclaimed essay “Mythogenesis,” which examines the rise and fall of a Native American legend. “Campbell has become one of the rarest of intellectuals ... a serious thinker who has been embraced by the popular culture.” — Newsweek

From the Publisher
The origins and symbolisms of mythology over time, as revealed by Joseph Campbell. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: New World Library; 3rd edition (May 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1577312104
• ISBN-13: 978-1577312109
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #354,706 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational......, October 20, 2004

By	Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

For devoted fans who cannot get enough of Joseph Campbell's thoughts, I highly recommend THE FLIGHT OF THE WILD GANDER. Although the book was first published in 1969, Campbell's thinking on the subject of religion and shamanism was well formed by then, and many of the ideas he discussed with Bill Moyers in the famous PBS interviews are more fully developed in this text. Also, if you have read his HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES you will find much of what he has to say in GANDER further distills and elaborates those ideas. GANDER includes several related essays. Essays of greatest interest to me were also the most difficult to follow - `Primative Man as Metaphysician' `Mythogenesis' and `The Secularization of the Sacred' the latter essay summarizing and complementing the earlier essays.

Campbell describes first step of the process of individuation, as a growing awareness of a higher power accomplished by traveling a singular path versus merely accepting and acting on the teachings of a `religious' tradition associated with one's social group. He suggests that truly coming to know God is a frightening prospect(other people may persecute you as a heretic to say nothing of the sheer awe of the experience) and lonely experience(no one, neither priest or medicine man/witch doctor can do it for you) that one can only carry out by letting go through a `Shamanistic' experience comparable to those expeienced by American Indians, Eastern yogis, and other traditional people. Even after you have got yourself out on a limb, so to speak, you will only know finite things because `that which stands behind' the Masks of God is unknowable by humans.

Any summarization of this text I might provide is trite. You owe it to yourself to read this book and find your own path. BTW, if you are searching for more material to continue your "Da Vinci Code" experience you will find that Campbell was aware of the search for the grail long before many of today's popular writers.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific reissue of a classic., May 29, 2002

By	G. James (Colorado Springs, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is one of my favorite JC books. The essays in this book stand up to the test of time, albeit not THAT long ago. Campbell was a romantic Jungian and Neumannian, but he took their work, and Zimmer's to greater heights and broader sights. This book is just lovely-- a treasure-filled collection of comparative mythology and psychological insight. Definitely one of Campbell's best.
It was so hard to find, I pleased that it has been reissued.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Myriad-Minded Mythologist!, May 30, 2002

By A Customer

This is Joseph Campbell at his most wide-ranging--from intense academic essays like his foreword to the Grimm Bothers' Tales to philosophical explorations of the place of myth in today's world like "Secularization of the Sacred" and "Symbol without Meaning." My favorite essay in the collection is "Bios and Mythos", where Campbell goes into the question of the biological basis for spiritual thought. Really mindblowing stuff!