Jung

Jung is a challenging subject to write about - an individual that splits public and professional opinion and no shortage of acolytes or assassins wanting to whet their own particular angles, plus ongoing and fierce protection of many of his notebooks/archives etc by his family. I've read several other biographies, including Jung's Memories, Dreams, Recollections and found this work immensely engaging and thorough. I felt I was presented with a vivd picture of Jung with good explanations of the origins and development of his key ideas, the challenges he encountered (or created) with his professional peers and his personal life. It's not always an attractive picture that emerges, but it does seem fair and balanced. I'd say this is probably the one book you should read if you have a thirst for knowledge about the man (i'd recommend Anthony Stevens "On Jung" if it's his professional theories that interest you)

An excellent biography, very accurately documented, yet enjoyable to read - great! A rare reading enjoyment, an opus written with expertise and great style

I have been a fan of Jungian thought for several decades, having had the benefit of therapy with a Jungian therapist... and then I read this book. It is hard to be a fan for Jung after reading this detailed account of his life and it does seem to raise serious questions about Jungian thought. I suppose transference has been at work here - we have been projecting what works for us onto Jung, giving him credit. Maybe deservedly, maybe not.

When I started reading this book I knew immediately that I was holding a masterpiece in my hands. And by the time I finished it I had an inner conviction that this would become the reference for anyone wanting to conduct serious research into the life of Carl Jung. In short it is what we call a definitive biography. Bair's account is a scholarly investigation of the life of one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century. It is an amazing undertaking that was conducted with unquestionable objectivity and neutrality. What transpires from this very honest rendering is the respect the author has for her subject. Along with a genuine effort to remain impartial, one can also detect a light touch of admiration for the genius of Carl Jung. Most biographies of Jung have a tendency to portray him as either a saint or a demon, depending on the author's bias. Some undertakings are more balanced than others, but they all display a degree of partiality. Except perhaps this one. That is what sets this biography apart and puts it in a class by itself. It remains consistently factual and avoids being judgemental. Occasionally the author will offer a subjective appreciation of a particular episode in the life of Carl Jung, but only if the assessment would be obvious and indisputable. Yet, the humanity of CGJ is present everywhere, which gives authenticity to the analysis. The overall balance that Bair has maintained throughout is quite impressive. This is a very formal biography, so if you were expecting a philosophical dissertation, or wanted to know more about Jung the mystic, you may have to look elsewhere. That being said, I have to mention that the religious sense, which was Jung's driving force throughout his life, did not go unnoticed by Bair. And the depth of his psychology did not escape her either. But the obvious raison d'être and principal motive behind this enterprise was to research the archives and carry out relevant interviews with key people that were close to CJ, in order to ascertain as much as is humanly possible the reality of Carl Jung the man, the scientist and the visionary. The author's conclusions should put an end to the speculations, allusions and insinuations that Jung has been subjected to in his lifetime and which continued after his death. For Bair verified thoroughly, and with the highest professional standards, everything she had access to. The results of her investigation have indeed confirmed some of the allegations, but many others were found to be unsubstantiated. I read its 850 pages (including 200 pages of notes) with a continually renewed admiration for the intellectual rigour displayed by the author. And I realize that what has been achieved here could not be repeated, for among the people who have known or worked with Jung very few are still alive today. But most fortunately for us the precious testimonies of several key witnesses have been recorded and secured for future generations.

Deirdre Bair has written the best life of Jung by a huge margin. She is balanced where others are hostile or adulatory. She is clear and understandable on the history of psychology, the break with Freud and Jung's own work, all of which she weaves seamlessly into the story of Jung's life.She is authoritative on Jung's strengths and his weaknesses and importantly is as fair to Freud as to Jung. This is the book to read if you want to really understand a complex man, his work and his times. On a personal note, she is also the only biographer who has provided credible answers to how an ordinary Englishwoman, Ruth Bailey met Jung by chance in 1925 and remained close to him and all his family for the next four decades. She was even asked to look after Jung after his wife died. All other biographies have tended to pass over Ruth Bailey as housekeeper and companion. Deirdre Bair provides extensive coverage of Ruth Bailey and her contribution.Ruth Bailey was my Great Aunt and in 1957 I went with my family to see her and meet Jung in his lakeside home near Zurich.

The first thing to say to anyone thinking to read this book is that it is full of details of Jung's life and, as such an authentic biography but contains less about his work that I would have thought possible on deciding to read it. (Incidentally the foregoing was exactly the same when reading Marion Meade's biography: Madame Blavatsky. I find it hard to be satisfied with Bair's book without being given some discussion of Jung's work: it seems to me that unless one is seeped in Jungian analytic psychological matters, possibly even to excess, then following the day-to-day routine of his life and that of his colleagues (647 pages of text) will become a tad boring. It is possibly unfair but I class this book and that of Meade - and many others - as American attempts to take easy reading (and writing) options designed for home consumption to give readers an accessible and mistaken portion of European alien culture. Understand that the book is, in itself, completely authentic and exists, like all books, as a personal option to accept or reject. Au fond, the book doesn't seem to me to fully understand or appreciate Jung's status in his own local context. Now I hope that in both these cases this may help someone reading this to decide what they want from these books.

Never before has there been such a detailed and meticulously well researched biography of C.G. Jung. The author is to be congratulated for the wealth of hitherto unknown details she has been able to unearth - due, in part, to having been granted extensive access to personal materials still guarded by Jung's heirs. But also an amazing number of different sources have been discovered and consulted. In a balanced way Bair presents "Jung, warts and all" by spreading out before the reader all the material currently available. For years to come this will remain THE definitive biography Jung, THE indispensible reference work for professionals and lay persons alike! Gottfried Heuer, Jungian Psychoanalyst

This is a fine book as regards the actual text; however I want to warn anyone who might order the paperback new from Amazon that what they are selling here is nothing but a crappy print-on-demand copy; the cover and pages are accordingly poorly produced - for instance the photo section contains lines from the computer printer, etc.

Wow !

For adherents of C.G. Jung, this is a painful read. Yet not to know this content is to be woefully uninformed about a person whose psychology has made such a huge impact in the world. Here we encounter Jung's true surroundings, his friends, his family, his colleagues, his trials, how he was regarded in Zurich, England, America and Germany/Austria, his interpersonal problems--not just with Freud but with other very important people in his life. Bair has done a tour de force amount of research. She makes no statements that are not corroborated by a serious footnote. There is a reason why she was trusted by the Jung family. She is fair, careful, objective and never leads the reader.

I have consulted all the biographies of Carl Jung available in Spanish, and some of the existing in English, and this one is undoubtedly the best. I think it deserves 5 stars. ................................. (Spanish):Desde fines del siglo XIX el psicoanálisis ha venido a enriquecer el acervo de la psicología y de la psiquiatría con una serie de intuiciones geniales, en particular las referentes a los mecanismos de defensa del "yo". No obstante, su pretendido descubrimiento de las estructuras de la personalidad ha derivado en la creación de las más dispares teorías, útiles tan sólo en cuanto construcciones de modelos operacionales aptos para dibujar la intangible versatilidad psíquica, pero muy discutibles como inamovibles "verdades" científicas. Entre esos modelos especulativos el psicoanálisis freudiano ha resultado fructífero para operar sobre las neurosis en sociedades occidentales sexualmente reprimidas y existencialmente desorientadas como pudo serlo la multicultural Viena del imperio austríaco. El modelo junguiano de la psicología analítica, mucho más esotérico y simbólico, resulta en cambio más apto para operar sobre estructuras sociales predominantemente introspectivas y místicas, o para complementar ciencias como la antropología, la filología, y la historia de las culturas. A estos dos primigenios modelos -el freudiano y el junguiano- se fueron agregando otros en apreciable variedad, llegando hasta los modernos conductivo-conductuales que predominan actualmente en los ambientes más estrechamente ligados a la psiquiatría convencional. Lamentablemente, durante varias décadas aquellas dos escuelas psicoanalíticas primordiales sostuvieron una encarnizada batalla por el predominio ideológico. Batalla académica sembrada de golpes bajos, particularmente asestados por la "ortodoxia" freudiana a sus contrincantes junguianos. Enfrentamiento que, observado con el escepticismo de la distancia, encuentra su principal explicación en una cuestión absolutamente pedestre: la competencia por un mismo "mercado" psicoanalizable. Mercado que ha sido particularmente importante en los EE.UU. -el país más rico del mundo, lo que lo vuelve explicable-, y, paradojalmente también en el Río de la Plata, al sur de las Américas, donde la densidad de psicoanalistas en relación con la población de clases media y alta resulta inusitada y asombrosamente elevada. Es precisamente aquí, en el alejado Río de la Plata, donde se hace sentir más la carencia de aportes biográficos serios y completos sobre la figura de Carl Jung, y donde el gastado y nada fundamentado remoquete de filonazismo sirve estereotipadamente para denostar su figura y sus aporte a las ciencias humanísticas. El libro de Deirdre Bair, a mi juicio, es muy esclarecedor sobre estos remanidos aspectos controversiales, y seguramente conocerá pronto una versión española que -espero- resulte fidedigna y adecuada en su traducción. Junto con la ya hace tiempo existente biografía debida a Gerhard Wehr, esta nueva biografía de Jung constituirá una buena base de referencia sobre la figura del maestro de Bollingen, volviendo las cosas a su verdadera dimensión, y recolocando su figura en el contexto de la historia científica, y no de la controversia ideológica donde se lo quiso colocar equívocamente.

A very good biography of Jung at a reduced price. It arrived in good time. The first few pages and perimeter (edges) seem a bit discoloured.

This is the most thoroughly research volume that I have read on Jung. The book is well written and conveys a sense of intimate understanding of individuals and their interactions. One could not ask for a more complete biography.