Joseph Campbell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell) was the great comparative mythologist of the twentieth century. In this book (1949), from an astonishing range of examples, Campbell constructs the ‘monomyth’, a universal structure found in mythologies, folk tales, and fairy tales across the globe. This is the “Hero’s Journey”. In addition, Campbell explores the Cosmogonic Cycle, the mythic pattern of world creation and destruction. You may find this dry in places but its influence has been massive and really shouldn’t be missed.
Joseph Campbell
432 pages in New World Library Hardback edition.
ISBN 978-1577315933