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The Power of Myth impressed the teenage me. Early twenties me re-read it and remained impressed. Current day, middle age me, I suspect, might be less impressed--although if so, in fairness, it might owe less to this book's faults than to the fact that its ideas have so oversaturated the culture now as to seem obvious, even trite. At this point, who isn't sick of "the hero's journey"? I've also since read detailed criticism arguing that Joseph Campbell wasn't nearly the scholar or thinker his acolytes have made him out to be. He's been overrated, according to some, because he was the guy on PBS. The critics sounded all too convincing.

Whatever the case, I still owe The Power of Myth a debt of gratitude. It's the first book that ever got me thinking critically about mythology, its structure, function, and relationship to contemporary culture. Before then, I'd only ever enjoyed mythology. Campbell taught me to seek its deeper meanings.