The Hero with a Thousand Faces (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) Third Edition

by Joseph Campbell (Author)

494 customer reviews

in Mythology & Folklore Encyclopedias

ISBN-13: 978-1577315933

ISBN-10: 1577315936

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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 Campbellâs revolutionary understanding of comparative mythology. In these pages, Campbell outlines the Heroâs Journey, a universal motif of adventure and transformation that runs through virtually all of the worldâs mythic traditions. He also explores the Cosmogonic Cycle, the mythic pattern of world creation and destruction.

As part of the Joseph Campbell Foundationâs 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.

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Editorial Reviews

Series: The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell (Book 17)
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: New World Library; Third edition (July 28, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1577315936
ISBN-13: 978-1577315933
Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 8.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 494 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Books > Reference > Encyclopedias & Subject Guides > Mythology & Folklore
- #1 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Folklore & Mythology
- #2 in Books > Textbooks > Reference > Encyclopedias

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Robert Wright, Jr., Ph.D., COFT

A Treasure!

September 5, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book is for the serious reader who is looking to learn more about the origins and power of myths in their historical context and how timeless symbols including archetypes are being "rediscovered" from a psychological perspective. For the uninitiated, this is an eye opening book in that Joseph Campbell is able to demonstrate in a masterful way how many of "the patterns and logic of fairy tale and myth correspond to those of dream, [and how] the long discredited chimeras of archaic man have returned dramatically to the foreground of modern consciousness" [page 255].

If you are a curious individual or student of history, then you'll find The Hero With A Thousand Faces to be a fascinating read as the author probes deeply into the origins and significance of mythology from epistemological, ontological, psychological, and teleological perspectives. Whether you are a student of the ancient Egyptians, ancient Greeks, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Karl Abraham or others, you're sure to find a wealth of valuable information and "perspective" in this book.

A happy outcome is that by reading this book you may glean a glimpse of your own heroes journey. That fact is worth the price of the book alone. It also makes a great gift for anyone who enjoys being reflective and is not fearful of diving into their own psyche and what they might find.

Robert "Bob" Wright, Jr., Ph.D., COFT

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Dan Fiala-T. H. Channel

Eye-opening in every way

August 23, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is the guideline for understanding not only all of stories, but all of storytelling. Across cultures from every corner in the planet, the same themes show up time and again--but why? This book looks at why we tell stories, and what deeper truths we can know about humanity from the fact that ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Native American tribes, and African tribes, all consumed themselves with stories that have way more in common with Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and Breaking Bad, then you'd think.

Skeptics have pointed to ancient myths, authentically dated well before the life of Christ, that ring far too familiar to His story. They'll say this is proof that Christianity is B.S., but Joseph Campbell says it must mean something deeper.

Campbell was a Christian, and I'm an agnostic, but I'd say anyone who can dig through his heavy rhetoric will find something really valuable here, regardless of their previous spiritual beliefs.

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Carroll

A classic

October 7, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I wanted to read this book because of an online course I'm taking called "Transmedia Storytelling." This book could have changed my life IF I had known about it 50 years ago. Why didn't I? I guess a failure on the part of my college instructors and a failure on my own part. If you want to write good stories and books, read this one first.

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Vee

A must for reading

January 17, 2018

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This book should be included in high school reading. Regardless of whether you agree with the ideas it is a wonderful example of research, passion, and hard work. It is also well written and brings up religious, societal, and psychological questions and issues that should be examined, researched further, and discussed not just among the academics, but among everyone. Teenagers should be given the chance to get a global, historical picture of religions and how they have shaped the world so that they can be more informed and prepared to create their own personal beliefs and rituals in order to be healthy, functioning adults out in the world who are tolerant and respectful of everyone around them.

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A. H. Wagner

An in-depth exploration of what makes a hero through the lens of myth

June 7, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

If, like me, you’ve heard the term “hero’s journey” but didn’t really know what it was all about, this, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, is the definitive book by comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell. Although it’s by no means an easy read, it is well worth the investment of time and study if you want to learn the expanded definition of a hero according to a general consensus of world cultures.

First, it’s important to recognize that the hero’s journey belongs to the greater fabric of mythology. In the book’s prologue, Campbell states without reservation that myth is the basic expression of all human culture: “It would not be too much to say that myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into the human cultural manifestation. Religions, philosophies, arts, the social forms of primitive and historic man, prime discoveries in science and technology, the very dreams that blister sleep, boil up from the basic, magic ring of myth.” With these words, Campbell gives the reader fair warning that this book is not a mere collection of fairy tales, nor is it an attempt to contain mythology as a separate discipline. Myth, according to the author, touches every part of the human experience. It is not meant to be contained.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces, therefore, is Campbell’s exploration of just one aspect of myth, the hero’s journey. In this “composite adventure,” as he calls it, the author relates “the tales of a number of the world’s symbolic carriers of the destiny of Everyman.” Even focusing on just one aspect of myth is a heavy undertaking, and Campbell acknowledges that he is only describing “a few striking examples from a number of widely scattered, representative traditions” to illustrate the common elements of the hero’s journey appearing in many cultures around the world. Part I, “The Adventure of the Hero,” delineates the hero’s journey in three basic phases: Departure, Initiation, and Return. Part 2, “The Cosmogonic Cycle,” explores myths about the world’s creation and destruction, a macrocosm of the hero’s journey.

Considering the extraordinary scope of material at hand, Campbell offers readers a well-curated overview of various traditional depictions of the quintessential hero. Some of the heroes described in the book are well-known cultural and religious icons, including Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Perseus, and Osiris. Many others, such as the Pueblo Water Jar Boy (one of the oddest and most humorous stories in my opinion), may be unfamiliar to readers.

This book is not only informative for mythology students and enthusiasts, but also very helpful for fiction writers. If you can understand what cultures all over the world have lauded as a hero for thousands of years, you can infuse your protagonist with some or all of these qualities and create an engaging story that touches on the deepest longings and fears of the human experience.

Note: If you've never read Joseph Campbell before, I recommend starting with The Power of Myth, based on a 1988 PBS miniseries in which Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell discuss applications of mythology to contemporary life. Because the text of the book is drawn from these Moyers' interviews with Campbell, reading it is like listening in on a conversation between friends, and it's a great way to ease into Campbell's work.

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katrina dawn miller

I highly recommend this book if you're wanting to know how to ...

September 22, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I highly recommend this book if you're wanting to know how to write a screenplay. The author goes step by step on focusing on the hero of your story and the journey he/she has to take in order to full fill his/her destiny. Mr. Campbell uses examples for ancient stories to prove his point. The book is not at all boring and I finished it within a day. I also recommend this for college students.

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Amazon Customer

Good concepts, a little hard to read

May 14, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I love Joseph Campbell and this is an exhaustive collection of his works and the Heroes Journey. You have to be very focused when reading. It is a complicated read!

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great book

this classic book by Campbell makes understand almost everything

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perry

Hard going

I remember Campbell from PBS series years ago and loved him, even sent for the transcript of a few of his shows, but this book is very hard going and I put down after an hour...Read more

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Gerald King

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Kenner C.

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Guy sounds like a robot and there is a high pitched noise. I hate it.

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George Brown

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Too deep for me...

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Karen H.

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so far, so good

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Not just the monomyth.

This book not only succeeds in comparing and diverse mythology, folklore and religion; it also discusses psychological and social causes for and effects from it.Read more

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