Joseph Campbell, arguably the greatest mythologist of our time, was certainly one of our greatest story-tellers. This new cloth edition of The Hero's Journey, published to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Campbell's birth, recounts his own quest and conveys the excitement of his lifelong exploration of our mythic traditions, what he called "the one great story of mankind." This masterfully crafted book interweaves conversations with Campbell and some of the people he inspired, including poet Robert Bly, anthropologist Angeles Arrien, filmmaker David Kennard, Doors' drummer John Densmore, psychiatric pioneer Stanislov Grof, Nobel laureate Roger Guillemen, and others.

Behind the man who spent his life journeying through the mythologies of the world was someone whose life was a deep personal quest for his own immortal hero. Through a series of interviews, The Hero's Journey follows the footsteps of Joseph Campbell as he tells stories of his life, his love, and his passion. Following Campbell's own themes from Hero with a Thousand Faces, Phil Cousineau, as editor, lets that story unfold. First comes the "Call to Adventure" in which the young child, sensing the mystery and the poetry inherent in life, makes the first of his many discoveries, the Native American. Campbell immerses himself completely in this world, reading everything he can find. He then moves on, through his student days, along his own "Road of Trials" and his "Vision Quest," searching out those places where his experiences, his own taste of life will be heightened.

An athlete, traveler, and avid scholar, he moves to Paris, where he comes in contact with his very deepest passion, the world common to all of mankind -- the world of inner transformation. He finds the immortal questions revealed in mythology, art, and literature, and he begins to lecture and write as he dedicates himself to the mythology of his own personal journey. Campbell reflects in The Hero's Journey on subjects ranging from the origins and functions of myth, the role of the artist, and the need for ritual, to the ordeals of love and romance. With his poetic and pragmatic language, Joseph Campbell stands as a signpost in a time when we have lost our connection to mythology.