Carl Jung's Red Book

This is kind of old, but hey, behind the times is how I roll.

Anyhow, it's an interesting article on how the Red Book came to be published, and an overview on what all the fuss is about.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/magazine/20jung-t.html?referrer=

This is a story about a nearly 100-year-old book, bound in red leather, which has spent the last quarter century secreted away in a bank vault in Switzerland. The book is big and heavy and its spine is etched with gold letters that say “Liber Novus,” which is Latin for “New Book.” Its pages are made from thick cream-colored parchment and filled with paintings of otherworldly creatures and handwritten dialogues with gods and devils. If you didn’t know the book’s vintage, you might confuse it for a lost medieval tome.

And yet between the book’s heavy covers, a very modern story unfolds. It goes as follows: Man skids into midlife and loses his soul. Man goes looking for soul. After a lot of instructive hardship and adventure — taking place entirely in his head — he finds it again.

Some people feel that nobody should read the book, and some feel that everybody should read it. The truth is, nobody really knows. Most of what has been said about the book — what it is, what it means — is the product of guesswork, because from the time it was begun in 1914 in a smallish town in Switzerland, it seems that only about two dozen people have managed to read or even have much of a look at it.

On the subject of evil and psychopathy in this thread, I was curious if anyone has read this, and what they thought. The original full volume, leather bound with pictures will run you $124. I just ordered the readers addition from Amazon for $27.
 
I have been wanting to get this book since I first found out about it, I think two years ago. I looked through the Readers Edifion at a bookstore and, sorry to say, did not think it worth buying without access to the original. But, do let us know what you think.
 
I have been wanting to get this book since I first found out about it, I think two years ago. I looked through the Readers Edifion at a bookstore and, sorry to say, did not think it worth buying without access to the original. But, do let us know what you think.
Why did you think it wasn't worth buying?
 
Why did you think it wasn't worth buying?

Hi Vault,

I haven't had time to login the last few days (very busy at work!), so sorry for the late reply, but the reason I said it wasn't worth it without access to the original is because it is like having the Reader's Guide to Finnegans Wake without having a copy of Finnegans Wake. Plus it doesn't have the illustrations In the way the original does. I eventually hope to get a copy. Hope the clarification helps! I mainly chimed in because no one else did and I was aware of the book.

Here are some illustrations from the book, for those interested:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2009/oct/16/1
 
Hi Vault,

I haven't had time to login the last few days (very busy at work!), so sorry for the late reply, but the reason I said it wasn't worth it without access to the original is because it is like having the Reader's Guide to Finnegans Wake without having a copy of Finnegans Wake. Plus it doesn't have the illustrations In the way the original does. I eventually hope to get a copy. Hope the clarification helps! I mainly chimed in because no one else did and I was aware of the book.

Here are some illustrations from the book, for those interested:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2009/oct/16/1

Thanks for the reply. I really wanted the full version, but wasn't ready to put down over $100 for it, so I bought the readers edition to decide whether the full copy was worth it. So far it's proven quite interesting, so I'm happy with my $27 spent. :)
 
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