The Red Book: A Reader's Edition (Philemon)

Many of the reviews of this volume appear to have been lifted from the full version of Jung's Red Book, which was published a couple of years ago. My own review concerns mainly the Reader's Edition mentioned above. However, I borrowed the earlier publication from my local library, so will make comparisons that are hopefully helpful for people deciding which to buy, or both. The Red Book by Jung, Carl Gustav(Author)Hardcover is a beautifully produced facsimile of writings, drawings and journals that Jung transcribed from his dreams and fantasies at a time described as his "confrontation with the unconscious" in Memories, Dreams, Reflections (Flamingo) . These are all beautifully presented and have the look of a Medieval book transcribed by monks, printed on quality paper. There are also introductions, translations and notes on the text by the editors. Yet, for all the beauty and care putting this book out, it probably always will be a specialist's book. Firstly because of the price- though sales suggest this has been less of a problem for Jung enthusiasts. The other main problem is one of practicality. The volume is slightly larger than A3 size and possibly 2 inches/ 5 centimeters (approx) thick which makes it cumbersome and physically difficult to read, apart from on a large lectern or table. It also makes cross-reading the pages containing translations, and looking at notes and the introduction difficult. After borrowing it, I decided not to buy this edition for that reason , though remained fascinated,. The arrival of this Readers Edition changes matters. It has been designed for those who mainly want to engage with the text, or who want something more portable to be used in conjunction with the larger volume. The text is transcribed to a normal hardback size and cross-referenced to illustrations in the larger volume, and is in a red cover reminiscent of some editions of the Bible. As with the larger volume, the production can be barely faulted. The paper is high quality. There are the introductions by editors and translators from the larger book about how the Red Book was produced, its publication history, as well as Jung's own text. My one disappointment is that there are no colour plates (none at all!) of Jung's illustrations, though there are some copies of pencil drawings. To fully engage with The Red Book probably does require the full illustrations in the larger volume. Yet, that said, the text is fascinating in its own right, and will still give much, because it contains Jung's record of his engagement with various characters who appeared in his imagination. As the introduction suggests, these partly reflect Biblical influences as well as Goethe and Nietzsche. Many of the writings have a poetic and aphoristic flavour with meditations on, for example, the nature of mind, good and evil. They also have a tone reminiscent of William Blake's Prophetic books, or more contemporary poetic texts like Rilke's "Duino Elegies," which was composed at around the same time. This book can be read in the same vein. In the end, what one makes of the content will largely depend upon one's view of Jung. For those who see him as a madman and crank, it may suggest insanity. Those who see him as a visionary will take much of this as as spiritual insight, and may read it as a prophetic work. One of the psychological fascinations of this text, for me, is when Jung deals directly with his material. In this we can see origins of many ideas that were to resurface later in his writings. Interestingly, Jung himself regarded the book as a journal of a psychological experiment with his unconscious. He was also seeing patients and discussing some of the things which came up with his colleagues and friends. This, to me, suggests that this much more than a diary of psychotic material. But as Sony Shamdasani suggests, the one certainty is that in the long-term term the publication of this work will revolutionize scholars' views of Jung, not least because it provides first-hand material of what was happening in his mind. At times the book is a heavy read. It is heady material. But for those sufficiently interested, it will yield much of interest and value. A fascinating book for those with a deep interest in Jung and his work.

If you're looking at this item and questioning the warnings given by other reviewers, do not dismiss them as folly. This is a seriously intense, esoteric and transformational journey. More than anything it presents a risk - any cognitive scheme leaves the mind open to construct potentially dangerous paradigms, and none more so than Carl Gustav Jung's delicate probing of just what it is that makes him who he is as an individual. This is not a scientific book - whilst it may draw roots from clinical psychology, Jung actively avoided jargon and objective theory in what was always designed to be an intuitive, primal and highly idiosyncratic journey into his own consciousness and psyche. Do not buy this book unless you're willing and ready to engage on a challenging journey with Jung as he struggles with madness, doubt, fear, mythology, philosophy, insecurity and various psychonautic voyages into his own being, set to the tone of a palpably Nietzschean construct with some Freudian overtones. Not everyone will be able to appreciate this book - fewer still will be able to enjoy it; but it does present a fascinating opportunity to glimpse at one man's stumbling journey into who and why he is. Jung makes frequent usage of biblical imagery as well as various references to literature, all of which are highlighted by footnotes. The real challenge of the book is less in the writing, which whilst occasionally challenging should be accessible to anyone who's read Nietzsche, Camus or Wittgenstein (which I pick merely as examples of writers whose work I've found more difficult to understand.) In reality, the real difficulty I can see a reader having to overcome is accepting the ideas Jung presents: not only are they highly personal and therefore difficult, if not impossible to objectify (which in some respects is a deliberate design) but they explore a highly mysterious and misunderstood area of study in a hugely enigmatic manner - almost parabolic in many respects. Despite this, anyone willing to devote time and energy into exploring Jung's Liber Novus will most certainly benefit from it hugely, and whilst it is not a book I recommend to the uninitiated, it is most certainly the best book I own as a pre-university student of psychology, philosophy and literature. In practical terms, the book is deceptively large. It measures at 30cm across, 40cm down and 5cm in thickness. It has approximately 373 pages printed in full colour on the finest printing paper I've ever come across. The first half of the book contains the original German Jung wrote in (detailed photo-copies, not transcribed) and all the included illuminations and art Jung himself drew and painted. The second half of the book contains the English translation written in computerized font and so sadly missing the illuminations and artistry of the first half. Included is a dust jacket. Many people say that the cost of the book is inflated, but in truth the presentation is just as much a part of Jung's work as the semantics encapsulated within, and it would therefore be of detriment in my humble opinion to lower the quality of the book, which is fantastic. Equally, holding out for a paperback edition is unlikely to provide the same experience, as any paperback edition will likely be merely the translated text which misses the importance and symbolism of the art. More than anything, this is an educational book. It doesn't seek to provide laws or theories because Jung recognised that to understand the natural, intimate workings of the human soul/psyche his findings must be presented in a natural, intimate manner. It merely presents a journey and a set of personal conclusions that the reader is invited to share in, endorsing or dissenting as he/she sees fit. Truly brilliant.

Well this item is not an entirely an item per se so to speak . Although economic content of the product sells well but the content is at challenging levels of cultural value with a systematic review of the names carefully selected to play a significant role in determining your stand in terms of understanding the tectonic plates playing on the mind of discerning subtleties of Sense

I've seen a lot of negative reviews for this 'Readers' Edition', but it is exactly what it says it is; an edition to be read. In that respect, I can't fault it. It contains a complete translation of Jung's Red Book, as well as a wealth of additional material from both modern scholars and Jung himself. Yes, the illustrations are missing, but that's the whole point of this edition: The illustrated, facsimile Red Book is a huge tome which is very difficult to read comfortably. This version is a much more managable, reader-friendly version. The illustrations are omitted to ensure the book is a reasonable size. Some reviews have suggested that this is not a translation of Jung's work. This is false; this book includes a complete translation of the original text, but there is a lot of additional material. This is a good thing as it helps to contextualise and give further interpretations of the source text. Some reviewers seem not to understand that there is additional material, which makes me wonder why they have bought a book like this in the first place. One reviewer even posted a photo of a page from the editor's introduction as proof that this isn't Jung's work. I can only assume they didn't even bother to turn the pages beyond the intro because Jung's writings are there in full. Make no mistake - this is a challenging read, but it's well worth the effort. And though it is lacking the illustrations of the (enormous and much more expensive!) facsimile edition, it is still a hugely fascinating and insightful piece of work.

If you want a short overview of Jung's contribution to Western thought and psychology, and how this arose from his life, I thoroughly recommend Sonu Shamdasani's introductory essay (about 70 pages). He writes extremely well, avoiding the long-windedness and tedious qualifications that often ruin debates in the warring world of psychology. The absolutely seminal place of the Red Book, or Liber Novus, in Jung’s intellectual development is astonishing, and was not known (except to a tiny circle of cognoscenti) until the 21st century. In sum, in the years before World War One, Jung began to have extremely violent and disturbing dreams, featuring brutal warfare, ruined cities, maimed women and children etc. He thought he was going mad, and that the dreams – which absolutely preoccupied him in the daytime as well as at night - presaged the onset of schizophrenia. When war broke out and its horrors quickly became established, Jung was delighted – in a manner of speaking. He realised that he had not been going mad, but that his mind had somehow tapped into what he called the collective unconscious. This reinforced his break with Freud and propelled him further into creative-spiritual, analytic psychology directions, characterised by an openness to broad cultural and religious influences which went against the grain of reductionist, Western scientism. Jung developed his theories over a number of years. He bravely cut himself off, to a great extent, from the psychoanalytic community in which he had lived and practised, in order to delve further into his unconscious. He developed a technique which he called the ‘active imagination’, which involved a self-induced state in which he interrogated dream-like figures from within his mind. He wrote all of this down in his ‘black books’, which he later synthesised into the Red Book, none of which were published in his lifetime. The reason for this secrecy was that Jung was afraid that if the personal, experiential basis of his theories – from dreams – was widely known, he would be discredited as unscientific. Additionally, he did not feel ready to expose his raw material since he had not fully absorbed it himself. His ‘active imagination’ forays led him to his theory of archetypes, anima and animus etc, and eventually to his own theory of individuation, in which the individual transcends his narcissistic self-absorption and his attachment to his cultural group, via integrating his unconscious and conscious selves, so as to become a truly ego-free and yet rooted personality. Not until 2009, near 50 years after his death in 1961 – and due to the mammoth efforts of Shamdaseni to persuade Jung's resistant heirs - was the Red Book finally published in German, with an English language translation appearing in 2012. The Black Books (produced circa 1913–1932, on which the Red Book is based) were only published in 2020. While I found Shamdasani’s essay fascinating, I have to say that – as a complete amateur - I only dipped into parts of the bulk of the book, which consists in Jung’s summaries of many of his ‘active imagination’ encounters. These are quite unlike true dreams, because they largely consist in semi-intelligible theorizing and obscure conversations with archetypal figures, and are fairly static. There is no real emotion, fantasy (sexual or other), violence, surreal drama or sense of personal history. Rather, these half-dreams are Jung's semi-unconscious musings on Western intellectual and spiritual figures or tropes.

Having had the readers edition for quite some time, i was often contemplating making the investment for this copy and i'm very glad that i have. The words alone are an incredible read, full of revelation and Jungs honest and individualised visionary experiences of reality and so it is only fitting that having the images go hand in hand with the written word. Jung certainly was a modern mystic, playing his scientific role by day and delving into the realms of the imagination by night and those inclined to seeking themselves any level of truth would very much benefit from his own explorations and tales of the mythical relationship that has both plagued and relieved man since his very first breath. Having the imagery that portray only a snapshot of his experience really aids in the understanding of his symbolic means of expressing himself and offer an insight into his profound experiences. Here are stunning pieces of art that inspire and provide us with a window into an incredible mind. For those who doubt the affordability of this product, it certainly is worth the investment, of both time and money, if you are willing to commit to a journey of unprecedented encounters and revelations that were the cornerstone to all of Jungs discoveries and consequent works. Enjoy your explorations.

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 consciousness. Nobody before or since Jung was so intrepid, pioneering or wise when it comes to this deeply complex process, which is part psychological and part mystical. Jung's Red Book is a treasure that lay buried for far too long. But it's editors and restoration experts have done a fine job presenting this seminal work, which is truly landmark stuff. The only criticism is the book's physical size, it is literally the size and thickness of a briefcase. We need Jung's work to be accessible and widely read, i.e. in coffee shops and on airplanes, etc. This is not a portable book at all and it won't be user-friendly as a result. A wise choice by the editors would be to publish a smaller version, even if it has to be abridged. The credit and service they do to Jung is almost cancelled out by the fact that anyone buying this book will be unable to physically handle it unless it's laid out flat on a large table similar to how you'd study a massive atlas. Saying that, it's still great to see such essential wisdom brought to the public domain.

Go back to the 1980's and it seemed that we had a complete and comprehensive edition of Jjung' works, ably edited and co-ordinated by R C Hull. There was a small pamphlet called the Septem Sermones, which didn't quite fit. But with the letters, it was possible to feel one had a handle on Jung's work. But then came the Seminar Notes to amplify the corpus. Now we have too to add volumes like the correspondence with Victor White, and. - and it is not the last part of the picture - the Red Book. What each stage has shown is how far Jung's work is comprised with his inner conflicts, and how say, the anima, is a reflection of and projection of his inner world. Shamdasanu and Hillman in Lament for the Dead Lament of the Dead: Psychology After Jung's Red Book argue, indeed, that there must now be as many Jungian theories as there are readers, for what he is describing is a purely individual odyssey. One may not need to go that far, but with more volumes of seminar notes, etc, on the way, it becomes plain that the way we as therapists use Jungian ideas, as tutors introduce Jungian theory, and how as analysands we understand how our inner journeys are all going to need revision; and that process will take some years to come. The Red Book is the most significant element in this - at least to date - and everyone interested in Jung's work simply has no option but to engage what Jung reveals of himself in this work. Other reviewers have commented on the difference between the different issue, so beyond saying one needs a text volume and the facsimile I'l leave that unexplored. What becomes certain, though, is that Jungians are in for interesting times.

Beautiful cover. Excellent print.

This book is an absolute necessity in any Jung lovers collection. When it arrived the size of the box blew me away, this is by no means a book you can put in your pocket or carry around with you for some light reading on the bus (or fit on most bookshelves for that matter..), it is one you basically have to keep out in the open, on a coffee table or something, but be ready to answer everyone's question "What IS that...?" when they come visit your abode. This book was worth every penny and I would even purchase a second copy just to have one I could kind of get worked-in and well loved and one just to keep pristine out of respect of it's awe-inspiringness. The pages are just beautifully glossy and thick (Oh the pages...)and it is extremely well-bound. If you are a fan of well made books this one will be a perfect addition to your collection. For the Jung fans, this is a must have. If you're just getting into Jung I would purchase it anyways. The book includes an introduction to Jung and gives you a bit of a backstory if you had no idea what you were doing when you bought this book or you decided you wanted to get right into Jung full right away. Its very well written and contains a lot of good information and it's quite a few pages long. The book includes Jung's original manuscript which honestly I would pay the $200.00 for even without translation; it's THAT breathtaking. The magnificence of his paintings and calligraphy work will put you in a daze. The colours, the symbols, the precision and time it must have took... I could go on forever about how beautiful it is. I have yet to get through the whole book, it's not the kind of thing you can read in a night. If you really want an insight into what the universal mind looks like this is the book for you.

Cet ouvrage exceptionnel est d'une qualité d'impression rare. Le papier, son épaisseur, son glacé, la finesse des traits, la brillance des couleurs, la typographie des textes, tout rend hommage à l'auteur des planches. Chacune d'elle, grâce à cette qualité, est véritablement 'présente' et peut entrer en résonance avec son spectateur. Il est donc possible d'accéder à certains dessins directement, sans grandes explications. D'autres nécessitent le texte, qui est parfois ardu. Il y a de multiples façons de lire ce cadeau, en fonction du moment, mais chaque planche demande un investissement personnel pour en saisir toute la portée. C'est un magnifique témoignage, à travers l'art, de la psychologie des profondeurs. Le prix du livre est certes élevé, mais pas plus que 2 séances d'analyse et il aurait été très dommage d'avoir compromis l'ouvrage en diminuant les exigences de sa mise en page.

well made and has a very premium feel to it, the print and page quality is really good

Before reading any further, note: This a review of the READER'S edition - and the Reader's Edition DOES NOT include the facsimile images (art and calligraphy) of the original "Red Book: Liber Novus." I suspect many of those who ordered the book unaware of this will be surprised and disappointed. This distinction was not made clear in Amazon pre-publication information. If you wish to see the original book in all its visual glory, pay the price and order the complete folio-sized facsimile edition. So, why then publish, and why purchase, a "Reader's Edition"? Why is the this edition important, even essential? Because the text of "Liber Novus" (as Jung formally titled his "Red Book") is really more important than the art. Jung experienced and recorded his visions and then composed his draft manuscript of Liber Novus before beginning on the art. The art and calligraphy came later, they were composed over the following 16 years or so. The text - compiled principally between 1914 and 1915, with a last section added in 1917 - is Jung's primary record of his extraordinary odyssey across the threshold of consciousness, and into the heart of mythopoetic vision. As he said: "This inner world is truly infinite, in no way poorer than the outer one. Man lives in two worlds." This is the journal of Jung's exploration of the inner world - and it ranks as one of the most important journeys of exploration in the record of human exploration. Dr. Shamdasani, who spent thirteen years editing Liber Novus for publication, has strongly suggested that one should read the text before even looking at the images. I agree. If you are ready to start that reading, there is another reason this "Reader's Edition" is an essential purchase: the big folio edition of "The Red Book: Liber Novus" is huge and physically very difficult to read. Holding it on your lap, or finding a way to prop it up and read it, is a painful task. God have mercy if you wear bifocals! This edition is formatted in a normal book size, and allows a more comfortable reading experience (if reading Liber Novus can ever be a "comfortable" experience). You will not be disappointed with the beauty of this smaller edition; it is bound "bible style" in soft faux leather with rounded corners, and printed using three colors of ink to add the distinctions in headings and text (this replicates the style of the folio edition). And of course, there is a marker ribbon sewn into the binding. I have no idea how such a finely crafted book can be sold at this price. But the text is much more difficult to meet than is the beautiful art. The calligraphy and artwork are immediately stunning, even overwhelming. I know - based on the several seminars about Liber Novus I have taught over the last three years - that most people simply never make it past this visual experience; they do not read Jung's account of what happened to him between 1913 and 1916. What confounds the reader now is the same issue that confronted Jung then: Though imaginative, mythic, apparently fictive, and ultimately subjective, what Jung met in his wanderings spoke with the voice of an objective fact. It was independent, ineffably ancient, and yet intimately and synchronously involved with human history. He perceived it as real, and the story it told had the tenor of a revelation. Without some introduction, some guiding insight into what the man was doing, most readers become quickly disoriented. To guide your first journey through Liber Novus, I highly suggest you start by reading (again) Jung's biographical memoir, " Memories, Dreams, Reflections ." At very least, study again Chapter 6, "Confrontation with the Unconscious." Then closely read Shamdasani's very fine introductory essay that prefaces Jung's text in this Reader's Edition. Next, get Dr. Shamdasani's beautiful new book, " C. G. Jung: A Biography in Books " - you will see my full review of that volume on the Amazon product page. After that, there are several hours of free lectures online from my seminars on Liber Novus. Thousands of people have them found useful, and you can find them easily by searching online for "The Red Book Lectures" or "C.G. Jung and the Red Book." Then, read. Take it slowly, give it deep consideration. It is quite a journey.