In these essays, Joseph Campbell explores the origins of myth and their role in everyday life, from Grimm fairy tales to Native American legends. He explains how the symbolic content of myth is linked to universal human experience and how myths and experiences change over time. Included is his acclaimed essay "Mythogenesis," which examines the rise and fall of a Native American legend.

"Campbell has become one of the rarest of intellectuals in American life: a serious thinker who had been embraced by the popular culture."—Newsweek