The Hero with a Thousand Faces

The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell

By: Joseph Campbell

Narrated by: Arthur Morey, John Lee, Susan Denaker

Since its release in 1949, The Hero with a Thousand Faces has influenced millions of readers by combining the insights of modern psychology with Joseph Campbell's revolutionary understanding of comparative mythology. In this book, Campbell outlines the Hero's Journey, a universal motif of adventure and transformation that runs through virtually all of the world's mythic traditions. He also explores the Cosmogonic Cycle, the mythic pattern of world creation and destruction.

As relevant today as when it was first published, The Hero with a Thousand Faces continues to find new audiences in fields ranging from religion and anthropology to literature and film studies. The book has also profoundly influenced creative artists - including authors, songwriters, game designers, and filmmakers - and continues to inspire all those interested in the inherent human need to tell stories.

©2008 The Joseph Campbell Foundation (jcf.org). Third edition (with revisions) / 1968 by Princeton University Press. Second edition (with revisions) / 1949 by Bollingen Foundation and published by Pantheon Books. (Original edition), year 2008 (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Arthur Morey, John Lee, and Susan Denaker are an adept and experienced performance team. The way they trade voices adds texture to the complex compendium of stories." ( AudioFile)

HUGE Campbell fan, but audio slightly confusing

I don't know if this work will be enjoyed by the average reader. My undergrad was in comparative religion, so for a philosophy geek like me, I loved it.

The only part of this production that I didn't like was how the producers decided to break-up the narrators for various parts of the book. Generally, Arthur Morey read the bulk of the book and John Lee and Susan Denaker read the scriptural/mythical text relevant to the topic.

What confused me though, was that in several instances Lee seemed to be reading parts that Morey should have been reading. I love John Lee's voice though, so this wasn't a huge deal. I don't remember this being an issue with Susan Denaker's sections though. I need to look at the printed version to see if I can figure out why the producers decided to break up the text/narrators in the way that they did.

Good points on literature, very dated pop psych

What did you like best about The Hero with a Thousand Faces? What did you like least?

It's good to finally sit down and go in depth with this book, the concepts within are fundamental to much of mythology as well as modern literature. The disappointing part is the literary analysis is only about 2/3 of the book. The rest is super dated psycho analysis. Put simply Campbell has his head so far up his own butt he'd try to interpret his colon's dreams to understand its relation with its' parents.

What was most disappointing about Joseph Campbell’s story?

See aforementioned dream comment.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but they do a good job utilizing multiple readers for quotations.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

This is not a popcorn flick of a movie, but if you took the mythology and literary analysis thereof it would make an ok documentary.

Any additional comments?

Nothing wrong with the performance, though as I said, Joe Campbell is a bit of a blowhard so be prepared. Still listen though, 2/3 of the book is invaluable.

Everyone should read this ♥️ thought provoking

This book is exceptional. I have a copy and would sometimes go back to read a passage to understand it better. I have no doubt I'll listen to it again.

Narration doesn’t work.

Even though lively and professional the narration doesn’t connect with the content in an efficient way. The narration is too theatrical and makes you feel dreamy in minutes. The textual content is good stuff. In any case, I cannot listen to this without falling asleepz

Dense and disjointed

I really wanted to appreciate this one more than I did, but I guess its just not my thing. The book didnt flow as much as it should, and I didnt know enough about the reference myths to piece it together.