The Power of Myth

Joseph Campbell, Bill D. Moyers

Doubleday, 1988 - Myth - 231 pages

"Joseph Campbell ... was the world's foremost authority on mythology. a preeminent scholar, writer, and teacher whose work has had a profound influence on millions. To him, mythology was 'the song of the universe, the music of the spheres.' In [this book], he and distinguished journalist Bill Moyers offer a brilliant combination of wisdom and wit in conversations that range from modern marriage ('Marriage is a relationship. When you make the sacrifice in marriage, you're sacrificing not to each other but to unity in a relationship') to virgin births, from savior figures to heroic figures such as Luke Skywalker from Star Wars (' ... By overcoming the dark passions, the hero symbolizes our ability to control the irrational savages within us'). The Power of Myth is a great summing up of Joseph Campbell's work, sure to stand alongside his two celebrated classics The Hero with a Thousand Faces and The Masks of God and his ... Atlas of World Mythology."--Back cover.

Contents

• MYTH AND THE MODERN WORLD: 3
• THE JOURNEY INWARD: 37
• THE FIRST STORYTELLERS: 69

About the author

Bill Moyers was born in Hugo, Oklahoma, on June 5, 1934. He attended North Texas State College, the University of Texas at Austin, earning his Bachelor's Degree in Journalism in 1956, the University of Edinburgh in Scotland from 1956 to 1957 and the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas in 1959. After college, Moyers joined the staff of Senator Lyndon B. Johnson as his personal assistant, from 1960 to 1961. From 1961 to 1962, Moyers was the associate director of public affairs for the Peace Corps, and deputy director of the Peace Corps in 1963. He later joined Johnson again, this time as special assistant to the President, from 1963 to 1967. He became the Press Secretary, in 1965 until 1967. That same year, he began as publisher of Newsday, holding the position until 1970. He then became producer and editor of the Bill Moyers' Journal for PBS from 1971-76, and an anchor for USA: People and Politics from 1978 till 1981. In 1976 he joined CBS as chief correspondent for CBS Reports for two years. He was the senior news analyst for CBS News from 1981 to 1986 and has been executive editor of Public Affairs Programming Inc. since 1986. Over the course of his many years in journalism, Bill Moyers has earned and received many awards and honors, among them, an Honorary doctorate, from the American Film Institute; numerous Emmy Awards; the Ralph Lowell medal for contribution to public television; George Peabody awards, 1976, 1980, 1985-86, 1988-90; DuPont/Columbia Silver Baton award, 1979, 1986, 1988; Gold Baton award, 1991; and the George Polk awards, 1981, 1986.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Power of Myth
• Authors: Joseph Campbell, Bill D. Moyers
• Contributor: Bill D. Moyers
• Edition: illustrated, reprint, braille
• Publisher: Doubleday, 1988
• Original from: the University of Virginia
• Digitized: Jun 5, 2008
• ISBN: 0385247737, 9780385247733
• Length: 231 pages