The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Power of Myth
Book Review: An amazing thought provoking,awe inspiring treasure that just may give you a fresh outlook on life and its mystery
Summary: 5 Stars
Their's not much I can say that hasn't already been layed out in previous reviews so I can only relate the impression the book has made on me. Quiet simply this is perhaps the greatest book i've ever read. Campbell integrated so many ideas together through his career and links together the stories man has told all throughout the world,accomplishing in showing us the the underlined themes that humanity shares throughout all time in all societies.Reading such a treasure one time through cannot do such a book justice. The idea's of Jung,Adolf Bastian,and James Joyce merge with the east and the west to create a truley amazing piece of work that I think most will fall in love with.
Campbell was an amazing person in that he could be critical but never "attack". A lesson too quickly forgotten in todays landscape where writers all too often attempt to coin a profit with intellectual smack talk.
So many books coming out today that seem revolutionary in their scope can be found as simply footnotes in many of Campbells works. Even all these years later contemperary writers are still far behind Campbell.
Book Review: An fine introduction to Campbell's work
Summary: 4 Stars
Since this book is basically the transcripts from Bill Moyer's excellent televised interviews with Joseph Campbell, "The Power of Myth" frequently comes off as a "Reader's Digest" coffee table condensation of Campbell's life and work. Since the interview, by its very nature is limited in its scope and focus, "The Power of Myth" simply does not possess the depth of Campbell's other work. This really is no matter as what is present provides the reader with a fine introduction to Campbell's passionate devotion to World Myth. Campbell's life thesis, that man posseses the innate desire and need to create myth, is a compelling idea the binds us all to ourselves and each other.
"The Power of Myth" is NOT to be taken as a religious tome. In that context, it certainly does come off as a cockeyed New Age concoction of non-commitment. It is meant, however, to be taken as a work of deconstructionist literary criticsm that seeks to celebrate the common threads running through all cultures and perspectives.
Campbell openly celebrates man's ability to imagine as well as his devotion to ideas. He does not seek to debunk or trivialize the devout (one must be careful to realize this as they read Campbell). His scholarly intent as I see it, is to encourage and nurture the seed of faith inherent in all and encourage everyone to embark on their own heroic adventures of discovery.
"The Power of Myth" serves as an excellent bibliography of sorts as it lists the many great folktales and religious texts which demand re-reading. Campbell urges his audience to read for themselves and search for their own discoveries.
If one is searching for a far more in depth study of myth, I cannot praise enough Campbell's excellent "The Hero With A Thousand Faces". As is, "The Power of Myth" is a fine starting point.
Book Review: Ancient Art Portrays History, Not "Myth"
Summary: 1 Stars
Reviewer Michael J. Edelman wrote of this book, "With Campbell as the putative sage and Moyers as his fawning acolyte, they put on a show that's a parody of Socratic dialogue." How true!
The ultimate contradiction in this sadly sacrosanct book of sophomoric sophistry is the statement to Campbell by Moyers, who has often claimed to be a Christian: "Far from undermining my faith, your work in mythology has liberated my faith from the cultural prisons to which it had been sentenced." Campbell was an atheist and a Darwinist. Note to Bill Moyers: there are no slime-snake-monkey people in the body of Christ. We're all descended from the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, through Noah and his wife. Did you get mixed up, Bill, and think Campbell was the apostle Paul?
I've spent years researching ancient art. My findings, including image after image of the art itself (what I like to call "evidence"), appear in these books Athena and Eden: The Hidden Meaning of the Parthenon's East Facade, Athena and Kain: The True Meaning of Greek Myth, The Parthenon Code: Mankind's History in Marble, and Noah in Ancient Greek Art.
None of Campbell's work was of any help at all to me in gaining a true understanding of what our ancestors were communicating to us in their art and literature. He didn't grasp the simple point that, for the most part, ancient art depicts HISTORY, not myth. Campbell's books lead away from truth, not toward it.
Book Review: Awesome
Summary: 5 Stars
Joseph Campbell is brilliant and if you want an informative, knowledgeable and accurate account of the myths of creation and religion read this, very enlightening to say the least.Book Review: BUYER BEWARE - Know the axe's that are ground here first.
Summary: 2 Stars
Anybody contemplating the purchase of this book should know some of the history behind it.
Joseph Campbell, a professor at Sarah Lawrence College, made the study of comparative mythology his life work. It has been credibly argued that Campbell's chief aim in his work was to counter the "decadence" of civilizations based on the Old & New Testament. Fine so far as that goes, but the implication is, of course, and the charge against Campbell for years has been that, he is both Anti-Semitic and Anti-Christian. Futhermore a prospective reader should know that this book was launched in coordination with a Bill Moyers produced PBS series in the late 1980's. In that series Moyers acted the part of a journalist in interviewing Campbell but failed to disclose well-known concern's about Cambell's alleged Anti-Semitism. If that were not bad enough, a prospective buyer should know that in producing the series (with the help of Uncle Sam through public television subsidies) Moyers entered into a contract to share in the profits from sales of this book (at least while it was still published by Doubleday).
Moyers, a liberal Democrat (he was Lyndon Johnson's Press Secretary and Chief of Staff), despite being a trained seminarian has made numerous public statements about the threat to democracy posed by the "Religious Right" getting involved in politics. However, as his affiliation with Campbell demonstrates Moyers is not just opposed to Christianity influencing politics, he is opposed to Christianity (and Judaism) influencing culture. Clearly Moyers (and probably Campbell) are rabid God-hating secular-humanists, disguised as moderate, and even semi-religious (in the case of Moyers) liberals. (For more on this see "PBS: Behind the Screen" by Laurence Jarvik available on Amazon.com).