Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Who will want to buy this very expensive collection? First of all, if you have not read Jung’s “The Red Book: Liber Novus” (published in 2009), and have not additionally read the extensive historical introduction given there by Dr. Shamdasani, you will be completely lost reading this text. Just start with the “The Red Book: Liber Novus”, then come back here. This an essential book for the serious students of Jung, who want to dive deeper into the foundations of his life work. You should know something about C. G. Jung before reading this — that background of understanding is essential. If you have that basic background, these diaries will be fascinating. What are these seven black boxed volumes? They are C. G. Jung’s private handwritten diaries from 1913 to 1932; the majority of the entries were made between 1913 and around 1920. In the diaries he recorded his visions and his imaginative dialogues with the Soul. (Yes, that is strange.) They were never intended by Jung for publication, but he did leave them with his heirs to be preserved for posterity. The seven volumes in the box set include an initial volume that provides a long and detailed historical introduction to the publication, authored by Dr. Sonu Shamdasani, followed by translator notes, and an appendix including some relevant illustrations. Volumes 2-7 include facsimile reproductions of every page in each of the six diaries Jung filled during this period. Following the facsimile images, each volume includes a complete English translation of the material, along with supplemental and explanatory footnotes added by the editor. The translation pages, combined, sum up to a several hundred pages. Are there illustrations in the journals? There are very few illustrations in the diaries, excepting a couple small drawings that punctuate the handwritten text. This is NOT a book of art — this is Jung’s raw contemporaneous chronicle of his imaginative experiences and visions, transcribed in the moment. (If you read German, you will be able to decipher Jung’s handwriting in the journal facsimiles, but it is not easy going.) Why are the diaries important? The Black Book diaries are an essential supplement to anyone who has studied and read “The Red Book: Liber Novus.” These documents compliment and explain each other. The diaries up through 1916 are the textual source of the material Jung entered into the “Red Book” text along with his additional commentary on the experiences recorded in the diaries. These diaries include that raw material, but continue on for SEVERAL YEARS after Jung completed his draft text for the Red Book. Quite a bit happened in his imaginative life and visions in the period extending from 1916 on through the early 1920s. It is a fascinating primary record, but again, it will only be of use to the person who knows the historical background and has read “The Red Book: Liber Novus.” In the diary material after 1916, one encounters Jung struggle with the God image, and with his own resistance to falling into the thrall of his imaginative and visionary venture. He saw his experience in the fashion of a revelation, but he refused to become its prophet. His struggle was finding another path forward. That is what he spent the rest of his life doing. (Also note, the illuminated images and paintings in the second portion of “The Red Book: Liber Novus” relate to events recorded in the diaries entries after 1916, and cannot really be understood without the diaries. I highly recommend readers also acquire another beautiful book, “The Art of C. G. Jung,” which reproduces many additional art works from this period that were not part of the Red Book.) Should one buy the print or the Kindle version? I have both the Kindle edition, and the print edition. Since I write about this material, the advantage of the Kindle version is being able to annotate and copy quotations — I prefer reading the Kindle edition mainly because I read all the footnotes too, and the footnotes in the print edition are in a very small font that is difficult on my eyes. But I love books, and even though it is taking up lots of shelf space, this is a beautifully produced collection. I have waited decades for this treasure trove of primary material. It will help transform Jung studies.