Looking for a particular book to read online?

Are you searching online for a particular book to read? 

Do what I always do when I am looking for a book recommended by others. Google “the title of the book” followed by “author’s name” and end it with “.pdf”.

I came across this question on Quora, "Where can I download The Hero with a Thousand Faces (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) Third Edition in PDF format?" and took up the challenge to find it.

I googled “The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell .pdf” and found many links related to it.  If, like me, you are not willing to pay for it, don’t click on links to bookstores or Amazon. 

I found one posted by “rosenfels.org”.  I am always wary about downloading books from sites that are unknown to me.  I did a google transparency search on “rosenfels org” to make sure that it is a safe site to browse.  This book was first published in 1949 and this is the link to its third edition printed in 2004 and noted as a Commemorative Edition:

The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

If you do not have time to read a whole book, find summaries or reviews about it. Do the same search but end it with “summary” or “reviews”.  In fact if you google "rosenfels The Hero With A Thousand Faces", you will be able to read an AI overview about it.  This is what I have extracted from it:

"The Hero with a Thousand Faces; the book was written by Joseph Campbell. Campbell's 1949 book argues that many world myths share a common structure known as the "monomyth" or Hero's Journey, which involves a hero who leaves the ordinary world for a quest and returns transformed. 

About the book

Author: Joseph Campbell, a mythologist and writer.

Publication: First published in 1949, it became widely known after a 1988 PBS television special with Bill Moyers called The Power of Myth.

Core Concept: The book outlines a universal "monomyth" or "Hero's Journey," a recurring pattern in heroic myths across cultures.

Influence: It has been highly influential in fields like literature, psychology, and film, famously influencing George Lucas's Star Wars saga. 

The Hero's Journey

The journey is described as having three main stages, though it can be broken down in more detail:

Departure: The hero receives a "call to adventure" and crosses a threshold into the unknown.

Initiation: The hero faces trials, battles, and temptations, often being tested in profound ways before achieving a form of enlightenment.

Return: The transformed hero returns to their world with a gift or newfound wisdom, which can benefit their community."

I am glad I made the effort to find it.  It was introduced by Screenwriter, Michael Lengsfield, who teaches scriptwriting at the University of East Anglia. I was then taking his free online course on “AN INTRODUCTION TO SCREENWRITING” at Future Learn.

I noticed that whenever I try to help others find answers, I have a tendency to find leads to answers I have been looking for.

So, the phrase "one good deed deserves another" is true for me in a reversed manner:

Helping others helps me (in many interesting ways).

On top of that, I am a hoarder for (free) information.