The Essential Jung: Selected Writings Introduced by Anthony Storr

_Some years ago I chose this excellent volume to round out my understanding of Jung's work. I had been exposed to the basics of his theories, as well as having read several of his complete works, but I didn't want to be accused of "picking and choosing" among his entire body of work. While I would one day like to read his complete 18 volumes of Collected Works I didn't have the time or resources back then. I found this to be a well-selected, comprehensive sampling. It not only rounded out my knowledge, but it both served as a good review for what I already knew, while pointing me to further study in areas that I was previously only vaguely aware of. Part 1: Jung's Early Work Part 2: Jung's Involvement with Freud and His Divergence from Freud's Theories Part 3: The Development of the Idea of the Collective Unconscious and of Archetypes Part 4: Archetypes: Shadow, Shadow, Anima, Animus, the Persona, the Wise Old Man Part 5: Psychological Types and the Self-regulating Psyche Part 6: The Development of the Individual Part 7: Integration, Wholeness, and the Self Part 8: Self and Opposites: God and the Problem of Evil Part 9: Unus Mundus and Synchronicity Part 10: Man and his Future _The table of contents makes it clear where each selection was drawn from. Moreover, each selection is prefixed with the exact page numbers referenced to the Collected Works. There is an appendix of the Chronology of Jung's Life and Work. Further, there is a very useful glossary of Jung's terminology. This is followed by a detailed bibliography. There is a full index. There are several black and white pages illustrating mandalas.

if you're unacquainted with Jung (as I was) and are looking for an introduction and overview of his contributions to psychology, then this is going to be a tough read and probably not what you want.Essentially this book contains various writings of Jung which are a sampler, if you will, of the important ideas that he contributed to psychology such as the concepts of the collective unconscious, archetypes, personality types, syncronicity, mandalas, dream interpretation, etc.Be aware that in these writings, Jung is addressing himself to his contemporaries who are well versed in the jargon of psychology.Overall, I learned quite a bit about Jung and his ideas by reading this book but I also feel that I would have benefited more if I had already read some type of layman's guide to Jung's ideas before tackling this book.

Stor has done a wonderful thing in presenting Jung's voluminous works in a single volume. Although the content may at times be intimidating, the sections flow easily enough. If you are going to read any book this year, then this should be the one. Jung makes it absolutely clear the challenge that faces the modern mind, caught between reason and faith. In the last section he gives due emphasis to the struggle between the individual and the state. In short, this book is true wisdom for all to meditate upon.