Jung

A Very Short Introduction

By: Anthony Stevens

Narrated by: Tim Pigott-Smith

Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

Anthony Stevens argues that Jung's visionary powers and profound spirituality have helped many to find an alternative set of values to the arid materialism prevailing Western society.

This concise introduction explains clearly the basic concepts of Jungian psychology: The collective unconscious, complex, archetype, shadow, persona, anima, animus, and the individuation of the Self. Anthony Stevens examines Jung's views on such disparate subjects as myth, religion, alchemy, "synchronicity", and the psychology of gender differences. He devotes separate chapters to the stages of life, Jung's theory of psychological types, the interpretation of dreams, the practice of Jungian analysis, and to the unjust allegation that Jung was a Nazi sympathiser.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2003 Anthony Stevens (P)2003 Naxos AudioBooks Ltd.

Critic Reviews

"Tim Pigott-Smith's mellow voice achieves perfect pronunciation. By giving welcome expression to the dry definitions, his tempered enthusiasm and varying pace add color to a black-and-white text." (AudioFile)

Very nice - will not be disappointed

Well- to keep it short and sweet - great narration, great introduction on Jung ideas and research (and comparison to his eventual nemesis Freud). Any layperson interested in psychoanalysis will not be disappointed by this audiobook. It will probably spark an interest in buying further books on Jung and or Freud.

An excellent overview of Jung

I have a friend who is a Jungian scholar who is writing a book on some aspect of Jung. 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. 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. Stone is the master of the biographical novel. The book on Freud was fascinating. The author of this book is Dr. Anthony Stevens a British psychiatrist and Jungian analyst. He has co-author several books on evolutionary psychiatry. Dr. Stevens’ book is a well written, comprehensive over view of Jung’s ideas and biography. He explains Jung’s relationship with Freud and refutes the anti-Semitism charges that floated around since before World War Two. It is obvious that Dr. 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. Tim Pigott-Smith did a great job narrating the book.

Outstanding

An excellent primer on Jung. Well read in an engaging, informative and lively style which matched the outstanding writing. You will learn much about Juung, Gnosticism, and Depth Psychology from this. I felt enriched for the whole experience. WELL WORTH THE PRICE! A TREASURE.

Utterly fascinating

I had some familiarity with Jungian concepts going into this work, but zero knowledge of his life. What a fascinating biography! I couldn't put this down, and after finishing it craved to know more of Jung's relationship with Freud, and of Jung's life after their rift. Very entertaining, and Anthony Stevens' narration is fanTAStic!

Very Short Introductions is the best collection

Very Short Introductions is the best collection - I loved this one - We need more, please.

Jung: Normal is the Ideal Aim of the Unsuccessful

First, I love this book because it's short. I have a million other topics I need to study, but I've always been fascinated by Jung. I should confess that my total understanding of psychology is a college 101 class, so this is really not my world. However, I was offended by the focus on the aberrant and the lack of focus on the health of ordinary people. I was also repulsed by the focus on Freud and his obsession with sex. While sex is clearly a part of life, my life doesn't evolve around it. The course briefly mentioned this enigmatic, foreign figure who seemed to take people more holistically. This book gave me a nice relationship with Jung -- much more than an introduction. I was surprised at the depth and range of a book so short.
This book is also brings in myth and gossip, rounding out the truly legendary elements of Jung's life. 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. I was also compelled by his idea that by living the experience of failed mental health, he was able to gain a greater insight. He considered his mental failing a great contribution to his research. Amazing!
I learned about Jung's childhood, his relationship with Freud, his research, his failed mental health and recovery and his return to academia. I learned about concepts like his disagreements with Freud on the meaning of dreams and his ideas about archetypes. The audiobook is only something like 3 hours long. In less than a week of daily commutes, I was able to get a pretty good basic understanding of Jung.
The audiobook's narration is smooth and I love the narrator's accent. Great read.

Concise

I've always wanted to have at least a basic understanding of Jung's main theories, and I feel like this book did that for me. So much of his work is in contrast to Freud, and this book gives due attention to their relationship and how Jung broke from Freud to develop his own theories, which were totally unacceptable to Freud.

The chapter that discusses the charges of racism, especially anti-semitism, against Jung wasn't sufficiently developed, in my opinion. It defends Jung against those charges, but it doesn't really go into the nature or basis of the charges themselves. I understood why the author thought Jung wasn't a racist, but I wasn't clear at all on why some of his detractors thought he was.

A good place to start in understanding Jung. Short and, with the exception noted above, very informative.

I love this series!

Very good introduction

Covered lots of concepts. Performance was excellent. I enjoyed it very much and would listen to more by the narrator.

Fabulous overview

What did you love best about Jung?

This book succeeds in explaining Jung's life and Jungian concepts in a concise but very thorough and intelligent manner. If you're interested in Jung I can't imagine a better way to learn. As with any well-written book about an interesting subject, it's entertaining as well. Very high recommendation.

"JUNG WILL AWAKEN & OPEN YOUR MIND!!!!"

Would you consider the audio edition of Jung to be better than the print version?

YES!~

What was one of the most memorable moments of Jung?

Jungs extraordinary willingness to do extensive introspection in himself before attempting to help other individuals who are mentally ill. GOD BLESS JUNG!~

What about Tim Pigott-Smith’s performance did you like?

AMAZING!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

just do it.

Any additional comments?

do yourself a favor and read this book~

Great summary, nice narrative...

I really enjoyed this book on Jung. I had read Selected Works by Anthony Storr and I had a good idea about some of Jung's key theories,

This book kicks off with a fascinating insight into Jung's childhood and student years and explains some of the connections between his later ideas and his early insights. I find this book rewards several listens and having listened to it a number of times I have gone on to read "Memories Dreams & Reflections" Carl Jung's autobiography which I would also recommend highly.

Great Overview

Really interesting overview of Jung the man and his ideas.

Very good - content and quality

I really enjoyed this audiobook - both the content and the quality - and I expect I shall listen to it several times. Certain parts of it, like Jung's perspective on illness as a creative process, I found particularly inspiring. If you would like an introduction to Jung's ideas and like listening to audiobooks then this comes recommended.

A voice for our times ...

A pithy and fascinating summary of an immense subject.
Jung’s story and vision are needed in these times dominated by nostalgic and technological escapism in which many individuals abandon the quest for personal individuation in favour of extreme materialism and / or tribalism.

Great for a short introduction!!

Would listen to it again anytime for a boost of inspiration :) am happy with this purchase and would definitely recommend. Just finished listening and almost want to start again - Love Jung!

Good overview

language a bit heavy and old fashioned but gives a flavour of the man.

Brilliant

loved it would recommend it to those who prefer a pragmatic approach to psychoanalysis. Tim Piggott Smith has a superb reading voice

Carl Jung's Book

I can appreciate the opinions and facts about Carl Jung that J7ng himself would not speak about.
the rest can pretty much be found in Jung's book itself.

A stimulating introduction that piques my interest

A stimulating introduction that piqued my interest. A perfect use of audiobook format. More than sufficient to inform me of a brief yet broad overview of Jung, pointing me towards particular areas of shared interest for further reading, which I can't wait to begin. An engaging narrator, thankfully.

Excellent

Really concise and informative book, Read in an engaging style. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.