Asian Journals

(Paperback)

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At the beginning of his career, Joseph Campbell developed a lasting fascination with the cultures of the Far East, and explorations of Buddhist and Hindu philosophy later became recurring motifs in his vast body of work. However, Campbell had to wait until middle age to visit the lands that inspired him so deeply. In 1954, he took a sabbatical from his teaching position and embarked on a yearlong voyage through India, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and finally, Japan. The Asian Journals are an edited version of Campbell's own travel diary, a day-to-day record of the people he met and the historical places he visited on his trek through Asia. Along the way he enlivens the narrative with his own musings on culture, religion, myth, and politics, describing both the trivial and the sublime. As always, Campbell's keen intellect and boundless curiosity shine through in his lucid prose. From these pages, Campbell enthusiasts will come away with a deeper understanding of the man, his work, and his enduring legacy.

Reviews

"Campbell interrogates his own prejudices, dismantles them and builds the foundations of what has become an influential way of thinking about the world's religions."
Publishers Weekly about Baksheesh and Brahman

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

"In our generation the mythographer who has had the fullest command of the huge scholarly literature, the analytic ability, the lucid prose, and the needed staying power has been Joseph Campbell."
Commentary

Author Bio

Joseph Campbell is widely credited with bringing mythology to a mass audience. His works, including The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the four-volume The Masks of God, and The Power of Myth (with Bill Moyers), rank among the classics in mythology and literature.