He considered his mental failing a great contribution to his research. I was also compelled by his idea that by living the experience of failed mental health, he was able to gain a greater insight. It introduced me to amazing elements of his life, like his own struggles with sanity and his believe that babbling maniacs should be listened to, an idea, which, while counter intuitive, I found compelling. This book is also brings in myth and gossip, rounding out the truly legendary elements of Jung's life. I was surprised at the depth and range of a book so short. This book gave me a nice relationship with Jung - much more than an introduction.

The course briefly mentioned this enigmatic, foreign figure who seemed to take people more holistically. While sex is clearly a part of life, my life doesn't evolve around it. I was also repulsed by the focus on Freud and his obsession with sex. However, I was offended by the focus on the aberrant and the lack of focus on the health of ordinary people. I should confess that my total understanding of psychology is a college 101 class, so this is really not my world. I have a million other topics I need to study, but I've always been fascinated by Jung. Jung: Normal is the Ideal Aim of the Unsuccessfulįirst, I love this book because it's short. Tim Pigott-Smith did a great job narrating the book. Stevens did a great deal of research and has the magnificence ability to summarize a complex person and his ideas and system of psychology into understandable and interesting book for a lay person. He explains Jung’s relationship with Freud and refutes the anti-Semitism charges that floated around since before World War Two.

Stevens’ book is a well written, comprehensive over view of Jung’s ideas and biography. He has co-author several books on evolutionary psychiatry. Anthony Stevens a British psychiatrist and Jungian analyst. Stone is the master of the biographical novel. The only thing I knew about Jung was what I had read back in 1971 when I read Irving Stone’s “The Passions of the Mind” about the life of Sigmund Freud. When I saw this short book I jumped at it, thinking I could learn a bit about Jung so I would not feel so stupid when we get together. I have a friend who is a Jungian scholar who is writing a book on some aspect of Jung.

A very short introduction to jung