Cry for Myth

Rating:
Summary: Why mythology is important
Review: Rollo May was a psychologist, but don't let that bit of information scare you away from reading this book. May examines the importance of mythology thru the ages, as well as its nexus with psychology and psychological theories. In doing so, May points out the didactic properties that myths have had throughout human history.

Along the way, May takes a critical look at fairy tales and discloses hidden "messages" that we normally pick up on only subliminally. His inquiry helps to elucidate many of the themes that we teach to our children, and hints at why fairy tales have such an abundant popularity in diverse cultures.

May also describes to us how myths evolve and develop over time, changing with the sociological paradigms of each successive epoch. In doing so, he uses the Faust legend as an example. The text offers some nice highlights on the transcendence of the motif as it was first penned by Christopher Marlowe and subsequently revised by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Thomas Mann.

This is an excellent read for anyone who is interested in mythology, and is a serious warning of the consequences that go along with marginalizing the importance of liberal arts.

Rating:
Summary: Why mythology is important
Review: Rollo May was a psychologist, but don't let that bit of information scare you away from reading this book. May examines the importance of mythology thru the ages, as well as its nexus with psychology and psychological theories. In doing so, May points out the didactic properties that myths have had throughout human history.

Along the way, May takes a critical look at fairy tales and discloses hidden "messages" that we normally pick up on only subliminally. His inquiry helps to elucidate many of the themes that we teach to our children, and hints at why fairy tales have such an abundant popularity in diverse cultures.

May also describes to us how myths evolve and develop over time, changing with the sociological paradigms of each successive epoch. In doing so, he uses the Faust legend as an example. The text offers some nice highlights on the transcendence of the motif as it was first penned by Christopher Marlowe and subsequently revised by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Thomas Mann.

This is an excellent read for anyone who is interested in mythology, and is a serious warning of the consequences that go along with marginalizing the importance of liberal arts.

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Book I've Read
Review: Rollo May's "The Cry for Myth" is a testimony on American mythology. A fantastic novel, it encompasses a variety of issues by relating them to classic pieces of literature, such as "The Great Gatsby" and "Dante's Inferno". The book was a pleasure to read (and I don't even like to read). It opened my mind to think in different ways.

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Book I've Read
Review: The Cry for Myth was May's last major work prior to his death at the age of eighty-four. It contains the hard-won wisdom of a lifetime. Much of it had been published elsewhere over the years--long before Joseph Campbell's sudden popularity-- but May felt strongly about making a cohesive statement regarding the vital importance of myth and how much we need it today. Myths are how we make meaning of life--no myth, no meaning. May's therapeutic approach to myths links him closely with figures such as Sigmund Freud, Otto Rank, and Carl Jung, and comprises an essential and enriching feature of May's own existential psychotherapy. In this fine collection, May analyzes the archetypal myths we are living out--or maybe better, that are being lived out through us--and offers some new myths and interpretations that may help us make it more meaningfully into the new millennium.

Rating:
Summary: For all mythology-lovers and seekers of truth and meaning
Review: The Cry for Myth was May's last major work prior to his death at the age of eighty-four. It contains the hard-won wisdom of a lifetime. Much of it had been published elsewhere over the years--long before Joseph Campbell's sudden popularity-- but May felt strongly about making a cohesive statement regarding the vital importance of myth and how much we need it today. Myths are how we make meaning of life--no myth, no meaning. May's therapeutic approach to myths links him closely with figures such as Sigmund Freud, Otto Rank, and Carl Jung, and comprises an essential and enriching feature of May's own existential psychotherapy. In this fine collection, May analyzes the archetypal myths we are living out--or maybe better, that are being lived out through us--and offers some new myths and interpretations that may help us make it more meaningfully into the new millennium.