Myths to Live By by Joseph Campbell
|
Book Summary Author: Joseph Campbell Foreword: Johnson E. Fairchild Edition: Paperback Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 1993-02-01 ISBN: 0140194614 Number of pages: 288 Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) Product features:
|
| New | New Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $9.00 | ||
| Used | Used Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $2.75 |
Your purchase is protected by the A-to-z Safe Buying Guarantee. Amazon.com automatically transfers your payment to the merchant so you'll never need to pay a merchant directly. Amazon.com A-to-z Safe Buying Guarantee covers both the delivery of your item and its condition upon receipt.
Book Reviews of the Myths to Live By
Customer Review: Western-centric and dated writings on Myth
Summary: 3 Stars
The problem here is not with Campbell's writing but with the place from which his writing originates. It is a 1960's academia entrenched in a Western cannon, believing itself capable of interpreting the cultural relevance of myth to non-Western peoples through the same lens it uses to critique western, and specifically Biblical, myth. Repeated references to "primitive cultures," a complete dismissal of African myth tradition, and a clear implication of a Western superiority make the insightful commentary on myth a challenge to isolate.If you are really interested in comparative study of myth, look at some original texts and avoid internalizing Campbell's bias; Campbell schematically interprets the Indian Vedas, Zen texts, Navajo stories, Norse mythology, the Bible, and works by Dante, Jung and Freud.
A discussion on the mythical implications of "last year's" moonwalk, or the Kennedy assassination, for instance, don't help much.