Synopses & Reviews
Review
Will delight both avid Campbell disciples eager for more of his thoughts and newcomers to his work.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Review
[A] romp through the Judeo-Christian tradition — a lightning-paced tour with an extremely knowledgeable and provocative guide to illuminate some intriguing, untrammeled paths.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
It is Campbell the armchair speaker who shines through, buoyant with life and with comments that are eerily relevant to current times.”
— Parabola
The work confirms the commonality of the human experience. A much-needed prescription in todays world.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
Synopsis
In these expertly collected essays, lectures, and discussions, famed mythologist Joseph Campbell illuminates Judeo-Christian symbols and metaphors and their misinterpretations with the conversational warmth and accessible scholarship that he brought into so many living rooms during his groundbreaking conversations with Bill Moyers. Ranging across religious and mythological history and geography, Campbell highlights centuries of confusion between literal and metaphorical approaches to religious story and argues that the symbols of the Western religions are perennially relevant keys to spiritual understanding and mystical revelation. Whether discussing the virgin birth, miracles, or the cross, Campbells voice is uniquely engaging. It comes through, vibrant and generous, as if we are with him in a room flooded with life.” (Parabola magazine.)
Synopsis
Woven from Joseph Campbells previously unpublished work, this volume explores Judeo-Christian symbols and metaphors — and their misinterpretations — with the famed mythologists characteristic conversational warmth and accessible scholarship. Campbells insights highlight centuries of confusion between literal and metaphorical interpretations of Western religious symbols that are, he argues, perennially relevant keys to spiritual understanding and mystical revelation.
About the Author
Joseph Campbell (19041987) 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.
Eugene Kennedy, PhD is a psychologist, syndicated columnist, and a professor emeritus of Loyola University Chicago. A laicized Catholic priest, he has written over fifty books on psychology, religion, the Catholic church, and the psychology of religion.