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In short, this is a volume that will be treasured by the confirmed Jungian or by admirers of beautifully made books or by those with a taste for philosophical allegory. --Michael Dirda
Product Description
When Carl Jung embarked on the extended self-exploration he called his 'confrontation with the unconscious', the heart of it was "The Red Book", a large, illuminated volume he created between 1914 and 1930. Here he developed his principal theories - of the archetypes, the collective unconscious and the process of individuation - that transformed psychotherapy from a practice concerned with treatment of the sick into a means for higher development of the personality. While Jung considered "The Red Book" to be his most important work, only a handful of people have ever seen it. Now, in a complete facsimile and translation, it is available to scholars and the general public. It is an astonishing example of calligraphy and art on a par with "The Book of Kells" and the illuminated manuscripts of William Blake. The publication of "The Red Book" is a watershed that will cast new light on the making of modern psychology.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
92 of 94 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you are of sound mind, stout heart, and good character, join CG Jung on the most intrepid and exhilarating journey imaginable: the journey to the centre of [a] man (that is if you can pry this book from the cloying grip of the academics and fundamentalists long enough to enjoy it for what it is and have the grace to let it be just that).
Be warned: it's tough going. You'll be exposed to primordial figures that may remind you of some of your own. You'll be thrown into a bewildering desert of early-twentieth century Swiss-protestant metaphysics (heavily spiced by Goethe, Nietzsche, and assorted mythologies). You'll see some of the complexes and neuroses of a great man exposed in all their horror and occasional hilarity. You'll marvel as big ideas find their first voice in a seemingly unwilling recipient. You may even share a little of the horror and pain as Jung fails to see the joke his own psyche is playing on him, or perhaps even occasionally misses the point? Best, you'll see many symbols and wonders of the soul that, whilst being all too familiar, remain elusive, beckoning, and truly awesome to behold. Yep, it's your basic esoteric hero's journey, writ large, for all to misinterpret.
The Red Book is a beautiful, rare, and unique artefact of someone else's process. It's almost like a travel book, documenting CG's personal and idiosyncratic journey across the great undiscovered country within. Like its author, it's a book that will draw out and amplify each reader's deep psychological prejudices (you may have already glimpsed some of mine). And it reveals that author and his psychology in a way his [or anyone else's] more conventional works never have.
If you love exploring the human soul, I'd be surprised if you didn't find this the most fascinating, exasperating and incredible book you've ever read, as I have. Enjoy, but be warned: you may loose some sleep over it!
PS: As befits the subject, the standard of scholarship and presentation of this book is exhaustive, exhausting, and without parallel.
Be warned: it's tough going. You'll be exposed to primordial figures that may remind you of some of your own. You'll be thrown into a bewildering desert of early-twentieth century Swiss-protestant metaphysics (heavily spiced by Goethe, Nietzsche, and assorted mythologies). You'll see some of the complexes and neuroses of a great man exposed in all their horror and occasional hilarity. You'll marvel as big ideas find their first voice in a seemingly unwilling recipient. You may even share a little of the horror and pain as Jung fails to see the joke his own psyche is playing on him, or perhaps even occasionally misses the point? Best, you'll see many symbols and wonders of the soul that, whilst being all too familiar, remain elusive, beckoning, and truly awesome to behold. Yep, it's your basic esoteric hero's journey, writ large, for all to misinterpret.
The Red Book is a beautiful, rare, and unique artefact of someone else's process. It's almost like a travel book, documenting CG's personal and idiosyncratic journey across the great undiscovered country within. Like its author, it's a book that will draw out and amplify each reader's deep psychological prejudices (you may have already glimpsed some of mine). And it reveals that author and his psychology in a way his [or anyone else's] more conventional works never have.
If you love exploring the human soul, I'd be surprised if you didn't find this the most fascinating, exasperating and incredible book you've ever read, as I have. Enjoy, but be warned: you may loose some sleep over it!
PS: As befits the subject, the standard of scholarship and presentation of this book is exhaustive, exhausting, and without parallel.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In future years Jung's character will be micro-analysed on the basis of what he has set down in these words; his enemies will point to the text to show how clearly pathological he was, and his admirers will quote from this book to show exactly how enlightened and ahead of his time he was.
I have found Jung's 'The Red Book' fantastical, grandiose, poetic, spiritual, and inspirational. Whatever perspective/s you take on the text, one thing is for certain 'The Red Book' provides the reader with the most intimate insight into Jung's internal world and his creative engagement with that world yet published. Moreover it is the 'prima materia' for his approach to psyche and laid the foundations for his entire pschological theory.
For these reasons the 'The Red Book' is a fantastic work and an essential read for anyone with any interest in Jung and/or his psychological perspectives.
I have found Jung's 'The Red Book' fantastical, grandiose, poetic, spiritual, and inspirational. Whatever perspective/s you take on the text, one thing is for certain 'The Red Book' provides the reader with the most intimate insight into Jung's internal world and his creative engagement with that world yet published. Moreover it is the 'prima materia' for his approach to psyche and laid the foundations for his entire pschological theory.
For these reasons the 'The Red Book' is a fantastic work and an essential read for anyone with any interest in Jung and/or his psychological perspectives.
51 of 57 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
How can i possibly review this book, was my first thought, and it still is. I decided to do so anyway, because i think it might bring something to the table.
The book is huge, the imagery alone would take a tremendous amount of time to study. These things contribute to a certain "wow" effect that needs to settle before one begins reading the actual text, or, well at least in my case, even think of doing a review of the book.
So here we are: The book itself. The first's part of the book contains a preface by Ulrich Hoerni Followed by Jung's artwork and calligraphy presented as an original re production of Liber Novus. At the back of the book is the translation, which I think is very well done, I should say I do read German, but I'm in no way a professional translator. The book is devided into liber primus and liber secundus and scrutines which contain an entry of black book 5 (bare with me but I'm gonna quote Sonu Shamdasani from a Harpers magazine article instead of explaining the black books myself:
"To begin with, one must clearly differentiate Jung's Black Books, in which he initially wrote his fantasies together with reflections on his mental states, from Liber Novus. The former were records of a self-experiment, while the latter drew in part on these materials to compose a literary and pictorial work."
So is there a "before and after the red book" which has been state before. I cant say, I don't think anyone can for sure. After reading the book I had a lot of AHA! moments contributing to a better understanding of some of Jung's other works. The book has given me a much much clearer image of Jung as a person, but that image is inheritably flawed, simply because I did not know Jung. So weather or not the book, takes away from Jung's image, or adds to it, is in the end, not really that interesting.
The book is more straightforward in its text then many of Jung's academic works and as such is easier to read. The concept though, is far from straightforward and might take a lot longer to absorb then the usual academic material from Jung.
The book is huge, the imagery alone would take a tremendous amount of time to study. These things contribute to a certain "wow" effect that needs to settle before one begins reading the actual text, or, well at least in my case, even think of doing a review of the book.
So here we are: The book itself. The first's part of the book contains a preface by Ulrich Hoerni Followed by Jung's artwork and calligraphy presented as an original re production of Liber Novus. At the back of the book is the translation, which I think is very well done, I should say I do read German, but I'm in no way a professional translator. The book is devided into liber primus and liber secundus and scrutines which contain an entry of black book 5 (bare with me but I'm gonna quote Sonu Shamdasani from a Harpers magazine article instead of explaining the black books myself:
"To begin with, one must clearly differentiate Jung's Black Books, in which he initially wrote his fantasies together with reflections on his mental states, from Liber Novus. The former were records of a self-experiment, while the latter drew in part on these materials to compose a literary and pictorial work."
So is there a "before and after the red book" which has been state before. I cant say, I don't think anyone can for sure. After reading the book I had a lot of AHA! moments contributing to a better understanding of some of Jung's other works. The book has given me a much much clearer image of Jung as a person, but that image is inheritably flawed, simply because I did not know Jung. So weather or not the book, takes away from Jung's image, or adds to it, is in the end, not really that interesting.
The book is more straightforward in its text then many of Jung's academic works and as such is easier to read. The concept though, is far from straightforward and might take a lot longer to absorb then the usual academic material from Jung.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
May the one
May the one who illuminated this...illuminate me. "Reading" Liber Novus is still a life changing experience. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Jaklin
Landmark stuff
Jung knew. Simple as that. The proper development of the personality means becoming whole by confronting the deep, mysterious, volatile, inner shadow and integrating it into... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Marc John
The missing book
A rich expensively produced book which is taking a while to get into and absorb.
It should fill a gap in one's understanding of Jung's thinking and ideas.
It should fill a gap in one's understanding of Jung's thinking and ideas.
Published 17 months ago by Diogenes Clashd
Scientist, visionary or mage?
Carl Jung was a psychiatrist, a former disciple of Sigmund Freud and the designated heir-apparent to the Freudian school... Read more
Published 20 months ago by I. A. Clark
Impressive
I ordered it and was sure it would be a nice book to have. But when this massive volume arrived I was absolutely impressed. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Carlos F. Pardo V
Feast for the soul and the senses
I have known about this book for a very long time, as I am interested in the phychology of CG Jung. I think it is apart from the very important contents, the most beautiful book I... Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2010 by E. Rowan
Magnum Opus
Anyone who buys this book will presumably know what it contains so this review is confined to presentation. Read more
Published on 19 Mar 2010 by Dr. John Medhurst
Elaborate journaling
This is a fabulous example of publishing. That's the price of the book. Beautifully bound and presented, the paper stock is of the highest quality. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2010 by Slainte
Primary matters from the jungle of the unconscious
Primary matters from the jungle of the unconscious
It all began on 12 December 1913, in C.G. Read more
It all began on 12 December 1913, in C.G. Read more
Published on 14 Dec 2009 by Theodor Itten
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