The Presence of Myth is a nonfiction book written by Leszek Kolakowski and translated from Polish into English by Adam Czerniawski. In this book, Kolakowski argues for the relevance and importance of myth as an adjunct to our modern way of life. He cautions against being too skeptical and too rational in modern societies because we would lose connections and values intrinsic to human beings. Kolakowski is also not advocating for myths to have preeminence in our modern day societies.
The book was originally published in France by Instytut Literacki in the author's native language, Polish, in 1972 under the title Obecnoà Âàmitu. It was then first published in English by the University of Chicago Press in 1989 having been translated by Adam Czerniawski. It was published again in 2001 by the University of Chicago Press. According to the "Preface to the English Edition," the book was originally ready to be published in 1966 in Polish and in Poland. However, the Polish censoring authorities forbade its publication despite extensive efforts by the publishing house. Poland was under communist rule at that time. So, in 1972 it was published in France, and as noted above, by the Polish-émigré publishing house Instytut Literacki. The book was also translated and published in the German language in 1972 by Piper Verlag in Munich, Germany.
This book has a "Preface to the English Edition" written by one of the translators, and then a "Preface" written by the author but translated into English. The book is then divided into eleven chapters followed by an "Index of Names". The chapters are as follows: