Man and His Symbols

This book was originally conceived of and designed in the manner of an illuminated manuscript. The images are combined with the text to convey meaning. In the paperback most of the images are gone and the ones remaining are converted to black and white and shoved into the middle of the book where they lose their context.

I bought this book on a whim in college and devoured it in four days. It's simply fascinating, at once a very accessible introduction to Jung's theories, written for the layman, and a culmination of his life's work. Few books will change the way that you look at so much in life, but I can attest, from my own experience, that this will be one of them. Jung is our guide, in this modern and post-modern world, through the hallways of the subconscious, and our interpreter for those broken, distorted messages received via dreams, waking fantasies and the tug of images from our aboriginal self. If you have no familiarity with Jung or his ideas, as I didn't, then reading this book will make you aware of previously hidden portions of yourself whose input is necessary for good living. Just as importantly, it will also help you to understand humanity as a whole, its ideologies and literature... For example, Christianity and Socialism may, speaking practically, appear to be mutually exclusive worldviews, but who knew that they were in fact different manifestations of the same Golden Age archetype? This book is the key, the Rossetta Stone, to understanding so much of our species' mystery.

There are only two titles of Jung's I know of that were meant for general consumption: _Man and His Symbols_ and _Memories, Dreams, Reflections_. The rest, most of which are part of the 20-volume Bollingen series, are too involved and technical.Lest the reader be misled _Man and His Symbols_ is an anthology of essays by several authors, namely and in their order of appearance, Carl Jung, Joseph Hendersen, Marie-Louise von Franz, Aniela Jaffe, and Jolande Jacobi. All the co-contributors are Jungian analysts themselves and so are versed in the subjects they cover. Jung picked them himself and supervised the work until his death in 1961, after which von Franz took over. Perhaps not by accident Jung finished his own essay just 10 days before his demise. His essay (just over 90 pages out of the 400 or so pages) touches, naturally, on the unconscious, the very crucial subject of dreams, the archetypes, extraversion/introversion, religion, good and evil, among other topics. Given the scope, this essay of his offers a sort of synopsis of his worldview and life's work, perhaps one of the best summaries since it was his last published piece. Amongst Jung's books that I've read, his essay in this anthology is by far one of the most engrossing. Unfortunately I have to eke out a living like most of you so I can only savor it in installments. Of course I highly recommend this volume if only to whet your appetite for Jung's psychology, a psychology that has not only served me well, but continues to fascinate me, a psychology that is faithful to its roots--a true logos of the psyche.

If you are a layman like myself and feel that Jung may be a bit difficult to read you should start with this. Although this book does not systematically present his theories, it touches on all of Jung's important contributions to psychology. While reading this book, it was easily understood why Jung was so intrigued by mysticism. The illustrations in this book are amazing, and sometimes spellbinding, and to me they had the effect I think the authors intended -- to understand The archetypes. Read this book. It will take you places you never been or thought you could go.

This is one of the most informative books that I have ever read. In the introduction John Freeman writes:"Jung's arguments (and those of his colleages) spiral upward over his subject like a bird circling a tree. At first, near the ground, it sees only a confusion of leaves and branches. Gradually, as it cirles higher and higher the recurring aspects of the tree form a wholeness and relate to their surroundings. Some readers may find this 'spiralling' method of argument obscure or confusing for a few pages-but not, I think, for long. It is characteristic of Jung's method, and very soon the reader will find it carrying him with it on a persuasive and profoundly absorbing journey." The book is written from the laymen and very easy to understand. When one first picks it up and begins reading it one is in the dark about many of the ideas the book is expressing but after a number of pages one begins to get an excellent idea of what the authors are trying to convey. It is a truly enlightening book. I recommend this book to anyone who truly wants to learn more about psychology and the human condition. For readers who are reading the book for the first time I recommend the hard cover edition as this contains more illustrations thus helping the first time reader understand many of the ideas the authors are trying to express.