Joseph L. Henderson (1903–2007)

Sometimes, the whole is less than the sum of its parts.

This is, ultimately, two books, one on psychology by Joseph Lewis Henderson and one on mythology by Maud Oakes. The latter is supposed to provide support for the former, but it can be read on its own.

I'm not sure the former can be read at all, at least by ordinary mortals. Certainly it struck me as simply bizarre. Too many dreams, too little analytical data, and too few suggestions for something useful. To be sure, I'm not a psychologist. I picked up the book hoping it would help me to understand why people seem to be attracted to a certain type of story. I was looking specifically at tales with some similarity to what Joseph Campbell called "the monomyth." You won't find it here.

I was eventually reduced to skimming the psychology section, desperately looking for something that made sense. I never did.

The mythology section is better. I wish it had more background information, and I would quibble with the selection. But at least it gathers quite a few myths on topics such as resurrection. For that, it's a useful book. So I'd give the myths section perhaps three and a half stars (a good folklorist could surely have done better). The other gets at most two.

If you still want to read it, I'd suggest trying the myths first; they might make it easier to understand the other.… (mais)