Books like Myths to Live By

01

The Hero with a Thousand Faces

Joseph Campbell · Philosophy

The Hero with a Thousand Faces, first published in 1949, is Joseph Campbell's account of the monomyth — his term for the single underlying story structure that, he argues, appears across the world's mythologies, folk tales, and religious narratives.

Both dig into mythology.

02

The Sacred and the Profane

Mircea Eliade · Philosophy

The Sacred and the Profane is Mircea Eliade's most accessible introduction to his life's central argument: that religious experience is a distinct mode of being in the world, irreducible to sociology, economics, psychology, or any other secular explanatory framework.

Both dig into religion.

03

The Power of Myth

Joseph Campbell · Philosophy

The Power of Myth is the transcript of six hours of conversations between Joseph Campbell and journalist Bill Moyers, filmed at George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch in 1985 and 1986 and broadcast on PBS in 1988, shortly after Campbell's death.

Shares mythology and religion with Myths to Live By.

04

The Varieties of Religious Experience

William James · Religion & Spirituality

The Varieties of Religious Experience originated as the Gifford Lectures delivered at Edinburgh in 1901–1902 and immediately became one of the most celebrated works in the study of religion.

A kindred philosophy read.

05

Man's Search for Meaning

Viktor E. Frankl · Psychology

Man's Search for Meaning is Viktor Frankl's account of his years as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and the psychological theory he developed from that experience.

A kindred philosophy read.

06

Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon

Daniel C. Dennett · Philosophy

Breaking the Spell is Daniel Dennett's case that religion is a natural phenomenon — one that can and should be studied using the methods of evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and anthropology.

Both dig into religion.

07

Letter to a Christian Nation

Sam Harris · Philosophy

Letter to a Christian Nation is a short, blunt book written in direct address to American Christians.

Both dig into religion.

08

Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World

René Girard · Philosophy

Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World is René Girard's most comprehensive and ambitious work, presenting the full scope of his mimetic theory in a series of extended dialogues with two psychiatrists, Jean-Michel Oughourlian and Guy Lefort.

Both dig into religion.

09

12 Rules for Life

Jordan Peterson · Self-help

12 Rules for Life is Jordan Peterson's attempt to distill what clinical psychology, comparative mythology, the Bible, and evolutionary biology say about how to live.

Both dig into psychology.

10

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex

Mary Roach · Science

Bonk is Mary Roach's investigation into the science of human sexuality — not the pop psychology of relationships, but the actual research: what scientists have done inside laboratory settings to understand how sex works, what they've discovered, and why the field has been so difficult to pursue given institutional and cultural resistance.

Both dig into psychology.

11

Boy Erased: A Memoir

Garrard Conley · Memoir

Boy Erased is Garrard Conley's memoir of attending Love in Action, a conversion therapy program in Memphis, Tennessee, in the early 2000s.

Both dig into religion.

12

God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

Christopher Hitchens · Religion & Spirituality

God Is Not Great is Christopher Hitchens' comprehensive polemic against religion, published in 2007 as part of the wave of "New Atheist" books that included Dawkins' The God Delusion, Harris' The End of Faith, and Dennett's Breaking the Spell.

Both dig into religion.