Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Campbell has become one of the rarest of intellectuals in American life: a serious thinker who has been embraced by the popular culture." Newsweek
Review
Campbell excels in telling the stories themselves which feature brahmins and yogis, gods and monsters, as they disguise themselves as charioteers, eat themselves up and spy on mortals and in his glancing descriptions of traditions foreign to us: Japanese play language, an exceedingly polite mode of speech, for instance, or Jainisms insistence on quenching all desire for life....A solid primer.”
Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Master mythologist Joseph Campbell had a genius for finding the unifying symbols and metaphors in apparently distinct cultures and traditions. In
Myths of Light, Campbell explores, with his characteristic clarity and humor, the principle that underlies all the great religions of India and East Asia, from Jainism and Hinduism to Buddhism and Taoism: the transcendent World Soul. Just as Campbells book
Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor revealed the mythic underpinnings of the Judeo-Christian tradition, so
Myths of Light offers a glimpse into the heart of Eastern mysticism. Campbell examines the core philosophies and mythologies of the East, comparing them through vivid examples and stories to each other and to the West. This illuminating collection conveys complex insights through warm, accessible storytelling, revealing the intricacies and secrets of Campbell's subject with his typical enthusiasm.
About the Author
Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) is widely credited with bringing mythology to a mass audience. His works, including the four-volume
The Masks of God and
The Power of Myth (with Bill Moyers), rank among the classics in mythology and literature.