"Joseph Campbell made the power of story undeniable through the power of his own storytelling. Editor Evans Lansing Smith here collects Campbell writings on Arthurian legends that make events like Merlin's death and the Lady of the Lake retrieving Excalibur not just vibrant but also central to the mythologist's thinking. Three cornerstones of Campbell's celebrated scholarship are found here. The Arthurian myths opened the world of comparative mythology...

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 Campbells' revolutionary understanding of comparative mythology. In these pages, 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...