Primitive Mythology

Praise for Primitive Mythology and The Masks of God

“A monument of learning, wonder, and wisdom, daringly conceived and brilliantly written by a man who is at home in the Eastern and the Western universe of spirit… . In temporal span and spatial scope and in relevance to the needs of its own day, it is unexampled.”
— Henry A. Murray, Harvard University

“[The Masks of God is] the most comprehensive and the most imaginative treatment we have of a subject that sooner or later must claim every serious reader’s attention.”
— The New York Times

Joseph Campbell was an American author and teacher best known for his work in the field of comparative mythology. He was born in New York City in 1904, and from early childhood loved to read about American Indians and frequently visited the American Museum of Natural History, where he became captivated by the museum’s collection of totem poles. From those days onward, Campbell’s interest in mythology grew and deepened. He was educated at Columbia University, where he specialized in medieval literature, and, after earning a master’s degree, continued his studies at universities in Paris and Munich.

Throughout his life, he traveled extensively and wrote prolifically, authoring many books, including the classic The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the four-volume series The Masks of God, Myths to Live By, The Inner Reaches of Outer Space, and the Historical Atlas of World Mythology. Campbell died in 1987. In 1988, a series of television interviews, Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers, introduced his views to millions of people.

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