Joseph Campbell Reading List
Explore the Joseph Campbell Reading List, featuring essential books like The Art of War, Beowulf, and The Interpretation of Dreams that shaped his mythology studies.
Book
Prometheus Bound
by Aeschylus
A new translation of Prometheus bound with extant fragments of the lost Prometheus plays.
Book
The Interpretation of Dreams
by Sigmund Freud
The classic study of dream analysis that marked the beginning of psychoanalysis.
Book
Zen in the Art of Archery
by Eugen Herrigel
A classic work on Eastern philosophy, and a charming, deeply illuminating story of one man’s experience with Zen. Eugen Herrigel, a German professor of Philosophy in Tokyo, took up the study of archery as a step toward an understanding of Zen Buddhism. This book is the account of the six years he spent as a student of one of Japan’s great kyudo (archery) masters, and of how he gradually overcame his initial inhibitions and began to feel his way toward new truths and ways of seeing.
Book
The Metamorphoses of Ovid
by Ovid
Through Mandelbaum's poetic artistry, this gloriously entertaining achievement of literature-classical myths filtered through the worldly and far from reverent sensibility of the Roman poet Ovid-is revealed anew. " An] extraordinary translation...brilliant" (Booklist). With an Introduction by the Translator.
Book
The Art of War
by Sun Tzu
Widely regarded as "The Oldest Military Treatise in the World," this landmark work covers principles of strategy, tactics, maneuvering, communication, and supplies; the use of terrain, fire, and the seasons of the year; the classification and utilization of spies; the treatment of soldiers, including captives, all have a modern ring to them.
Book
The Secret of the Golden Flower
by Richard Wilhelm
An ancient Taoist text rediscovered by Richard Wilhelm, who recognized it as essentially a practical guide to the integration of personality.
Book
Beowulf
by Seamus Heaney
Presents a new translation of the Anglo-Saxon epic chronicling the heroic adventures of Beowulf, the Scandinavian warrior who saves his people from the ravages of the monster Grendel and Grendel's mother.
