In these pages, the Collected Works of Joseph Campbell presents twelve
eclectic, far-ranging, and brilliant essays gathered together for the
first time. The essays explore myth in all its dimensions: its history;
its influence on art, literature, and culture; and its role in everyday
life.
This second volume of Campbell's essays (following The Flight of the
Wild Gander) brings together his uncollected writings from 1959 to
1987. Written at the height of Campbell's career--and showcasing the
lively intelligence that made him the twentieth century's premier writer
on mythology--these essays investigate the profound links between myth,
the individual, and societies ancient and contemporary. Covering diverse
terrain ranging from psychology to the occult, from Thomas Mann to the
Grateful Dead, from Goddess spirituality to Freud and Jung, these
playful and erudite writings reveal the threads of myth woven deeply
into the fabric of our culture and our lives.