Book Description
The most authoritative life of the Chinese leader every written, Mao: The Unknown Story is based on a decade of research, and on interviews with many of Mao’s close circle in China who have never talked before — and with virtually everyone outside China who had significant dealings with him. It is full of startling revelations, exploding the myth of the Long March, and showing a completely unknown Mao: he was not driven by idealism or ideology; his intimate and intricate relationship with Stalin went back to the 1920s, ultimately bringing him to power; he welcomed Japanese occupation of much of China; and he schemed, poisoned, and blackmailed to get his way. After Mao conquered China in 1949, his secret goal was to dominate the world. In chasing this dream he caused the deaths of 38 million people in the greatest famine in history. In all, well over 70 million Chinese perished under Mao’s rule — in peacetime.
Customer Reviews:
Evil Mao.......2007-09-24
Very well researched book. Gives you an overlook on the real Mao and how the rest of the world misinterpreted him. Shows how America was superficial in assessing how the real Mao would be and how it applied pressure on Chiang Kai Shek to enforce cease fire on Mao's critical turning point of the civil war thus making it possible for Mao to conquer China. Mao killed his colleagues and his enemies alike for the sole purpose of gaining and retaining power. All means were legitimate in his eyes to achieve that goal. It looks like we never learn from these mistakes. This attitude makes us helping the Taliban to be a prominent force and Al Qaeda flourish in Iraq, a place they have never been before the invasion. Easy reading with simple language with tons of new info reflecting our lack of knowledge about someone so important.
what a joke!.......2007-09-22
The newest tome of bathroom entertainment. "Entertainment" is what this is. you know when movies are "based on true events"? this book is like that. I don't blame the authors for trying to make a couple of dollars by sensationalize and distort history to their liking. no one can really say their version of history is 100% accurate, but this is almost cartoonish in nature. I just hope some poor person don't actually believes any of this non-sense.
So read this book for fun, but please don't take it seriously, and god forbid please do not bring anything up from this in a discussion with your friends or family who are knowledgeable in Chinese history. You will be laughed right out of the room.
The Black Book...and the Red one... .......2007-09-14
Amidst all the controversy over this book, I can't fault the authors for their claim of Mao's responsibility for 70 million domestic peacetime deaths. That figure is indeed confirmed by the Black Book of Communism, which was written by avowed leftists.
It seems such a short time since it was oh so trendy to be seen carrying around campus a copy of the Chairman's Little Red Book.
Caveats, but well worth the price of admission.......2007-09-13
If nothing else, this book is deeply fascinating. The questions of historical precision are raised in even a rudimentary Google search for reviews, yet this is still a book very much worth your time to read. The authors make it eminently obvious they hold no love for Mao, but partisanship or bias are not synonyms for dishonesty - they simply require the reader to attach qualifications to the conclusions. We would not discard out of hand a biography of Hitler written by an Auschwitz Jew.
Concerns for the precision of her statistics and conclusions are justified, but only to a point. Discrepancies, such as whether or not the Great Leap Forward killed 30 million or 38 million, do potentially indicate scholarly sloppiness, but myopic focus on C&H's precision only validates Stalin's notation that once you kill enough people, they're only numbers. I'm willing to accept they exaggerated their numbers, but frankly, I don't care. I'm more concerned about a lot of people getting killed than about exactly how many it was.
Ultimately, this book asks you to weigh the benefits of Mao's life by exposing his awesome sins. Exaggerated though some numbers might be, and partisan though the arguments are, to dismiss this portrait of Mao on those grounds only encourages history to repeat itself. I don't disagree with the other reviews that this books neglects the "benefits" of Mao's reign, but starting down that road is extremely dangerous. By turning analysis of Mao's reign into a cost-benefit analysis between the lives he killed and the lives he raised from poverty or the advances in issues like women's rights, we only make it easier to repeat these mistakes. I am far more comfortable using Mao's biography as a morality tale that damns him unconditionally than I am with utilitarian calculations, however correct or honest those calculations might be. I appreciate the loss in nuance, historical accuracy, and objectivity, but are we really comfortable with the idea that presiding over the deaths of tens of millions of people is ultimately justified if future generations are lifted from poverty?
This is a book with caveats, no doubt, but also a book that makes one think that if you were given one chance to change the course of history, there might be few better choices than wishing Mao was never born.
Very disapointing.......2007-09-06
Before I started reading this book I had great expectations. I knew nothing about Mao at the time and this book seemed like a good place to start. This was a mistake. To make it short, the author's aim is not to tell the story of Mao, but to break his reputation. According to the author, Mao did not believe in communism, he just happened to join the communist party (although when he did join there were very few members and nothing really worth to take advantage of), he was not a great military commander (the writer explains that in all the battles that Mao won, he won because those that were against him were either spies or idiots, or because he was lucky, or because someone from the communist party did all the work and Mao took credit). The author also tried to tell us that Mao was lucky to acquire the nuclear bomb and he actually miscalculated but as in most cases luck was by his side. The issue that the writer really failed to tackle was that when Mao came to power China was in a terrible mess and no one really ruled it. The Russians and the Japanese attacked when they wished and no one could stop them. By the time Mao died China was one of the strongest countries in the world and was united under a single leadership. Yes Mao was a mass murderer, but that doesnt mean he cant be smart or calculating.
Amazon.com
In Wild Swans Jung Chang recounts the evocative, unsettling, and insistently gripping story of how three generations of women in her family fared in the political maelstrom of China during the 20th century. Chang's grandmother was a warlord's concubine. Her gently raised mother struggled with hardships in the early days of Mao's revolution and rose, like her husband, to a prominent position in the Communist Party before being denounced during the Cultural Revolution. Chang herself marched, worked, and breathed for Mao until doubt crept in over the excesses of his policies and purges. Born just a few decades apart, their lives overlap with the end of the warlords' regime and overthrow of the Japanese occupation, violent struggles between the Kuomintang and the Communists to carve up China, and, most poignant for the author, the vicious cycle of purges orchestrated by Chairman Mao that discredited and crushed millions of people, including her parents.
Book Description
Blending the intimacy of memoir and the panoramic sweep of eyewitness history, Wild Swans has become a bestselling classic in thirty languages, with more than ten million copies sold. The story of three generations in twentieth-century China, it is an engrossing record of Mao's impact on China, an unusual window on the female experience in the modern world, and an inspiring tale of courage and love.
Jung Chang describes the life of her grandmother, a warlord's concubine; her mother's struggles as a young idealistic Communist; and her parents' experience as members of the Communist elite and their ordeal during the Cultural Revolution. Chang was a Red Guard briefly at the age of fourteen, then worked as a peasant, a "barefoot doctor," a steelworker, and an electrician. As the story of each generation unfolds, Chang captures in gripping, moving -- and ultimately uplifting -- detail the cycles of violent drama visited on her own family and millions of others caught in the whirlwind of history.
Customer Reviews:
Entertaining and educational.......2007-10-08
I read this book in preparation for a trip to China. The book follows the lives of 3 women (daughter, mother, grandmother) in China. Chang does an outstanding job teaching the reader about China's history and politics while at the same time giving us the women's stories. You will learn a lot about China during WWII, Japanese occupation, Communist revolution, Mao's great leap forward and the cultural revolution.
On the downside, the author does not do a particularly nice job in helping the reader understand the characters. You don't get into their brains. This is a minor criticism and I still highly recommend this book if you are at all interested in learning about China in the last 100 years. You will learn a lot without having to read a boring textbook.
Amazing insight into 20th century China and Mao inparticular.......2007-09-19
It is incredible to read this true story about 20th century China. So little is really known about China to those of us in the West. It is hard to believe that so many "intellectuals" here in the West used to, and even still, have so much admiration for Mao when there is truly only evil behind this man. There is a lot of history in this book but really it is the personal story of the author and her family. A must read for us all!
Wild China.......2007-09-15
"Mrs Shau slapped my father hard. The crowd barked at him indignantly, although a few tried to hide their giggles. Then they pulled out his books and threw them into huge jute sacks they had brought with them.
"When all the bags were full, they carried them downstairs, telling my father they were going to burn them... the next day after a denunciation meetings against him. They ordered him to watch the bonfire 'to be taught a lesson.' In the meantime, they said, he must burn the rest of his collection.
"When I came home that afternoon, I found my father in the kitchen. He had lit a fire in the big cement sink, and was hurling his books into the flames.
"This was the first time in my life I had seen him weeping. It was agonized, broken, and wild, the weeping of a man who was not used to shedding tears. Every now and then, in fits of violent sobs, he stamped his feet on the floor and banged his head against the wall.
"My father had spent every spare penny on his books. They were his life. After the bonfire, I could tell that something had happened to his mind."
(Wild Swans, Jung Chang, p.439)
Me, I might've lost mine completely.
After being near-perfectly obedient to a Party whose values you put above your family, to be accused of anti-Party-ism, judged for the very tasks you were instructed to unquestioningly and unconditionally, publicly humiliated and beaten (even made to kneel on glass) and forced to burn the very items you've spent a lifetime collecting and loving...why, I would've been long-gone crazy.
But then these Chinese Communists are dedicated to their work and politics (independently of the cash factor, which wasn't much in Mao's China in the 1950s' to 60s') in a manner quite unheard of today.
I mean, how many of us believe our local politicians are in it primarily because of their "commitment to the unity, harmony and welfare of the country" (to ask is to scoff). Not for Jung Chang's dad, one of the many victims of the Cultural Revolution.
Chang is kinda like Josephus, who escaped a burning Jerusalem (whilst she a 'burning' China) to become a historical-political writer.
Josephus' authorial intentions were of course far more motivated by their allegiance to his benefactor, Vesapian. His was a history of the Jews, but also a thinly veiled exaltation of Rome. Chang's agenda, on the other hand, is an outright expose of the delusions, the cruelty, the very insanity of life and government in China from the start of the 20th century.
From foot-binding to scheming mistresses to escaping third-wives(!); from miscarriages due to long treks (because wives are discouraged to ride in their husbands' vehicles lest 'bourgeosie privilege' is suspected) to the terror of city sieges; from communal self-delusion about a glut (which was really a famine!) to hungry peasants kidnapping babies for food; from profiting from the black-market in banned books (supposedly to be burnt but conveniently set aside for secret trade, especially the erotic ones like Stendhal's Le Rouge et Le Noir) to the Little Red Book 'loyalty dance' (how? Gyrate, wave the book, sing Mao's quotes) - Chang spills everything one would want (and maybe not want) to know about life before and under Mao, structured and timelined by the lives of her grandmother, mother and her own.
The language is simple and clear and not at all 'profound', twisty or avant-garde-ish. Not unlike something you might read in an exercise book from a good Asian secondary school.
Therefore, you sorta know it's the content alone that won Wild Swans the 1992 NCR Book Award and the 1993 British Book of the Year Award. The book is proof you don't need kewl-sounding language to make a serious impact on the literary stage.
Read 'em and (you will) weep.
Wild Swans.......2007-09-01
Well written memoir that reviews the history of China immediately before, during and after the civil war between the Nationalists and the Communists, and also the early days of the Communist government. The good and the bad of Mao's rule is vividly portrayed.
Learned, laughed and cried........2007-08-31
It took me over a year to finish reading for it is a large, amazing book and I wanted to make sure that I was very alert when reading. Ms. Chang has a terrific writing style that makes you feel you are right there. Each chapter contributed to my knowledge of China as viewed through three women's eyes. It is the type of book you can finish a chapter and then go back to later for she has organized chapters to complete a period in time. Kathy Condon
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- How about a quality book?
- Here are some of Carl Jung's most advanced theories
- Get the Hardback version. It is vastly superior!
- 42 years and still going!
- Gains and losses
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Man and His Symbols
Carl Gustav Jung
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Memories, Dreams, Reflections
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The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.9 Part 1)
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The Portable Jung (Viking Portable Library)
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The Undiscovered Self
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Modern Man in Search of a Soul (Harvest Book)
ASIN: 0440351839
Release Date: 1968-08-15 |
Book Description
Illustrated throughout with revealing images, this is the first and only work in which the world-famous Swiss psychologist explains to the layperson his enormously influential theory of symbolism as revealed in dreams.
Customer Reviews:
How about a quality book?.......2007-09-11
The content is classic and deserves better quality presentation. How about a hardcover? The paper is cheap and already turning brown. The print is miniscule and could be a font size or two larger. I want to buy books to continue building a quality library, not a cheap throw-away.
Here are some of Carl Jung's most advanced theories.......2006-12-01
This anthology of essays by Jung and his colleagues yields great insights into Jung's school of depth psychology and the psychology of archetypes. This is a must read for any magician and other workers of the mind. One of the later essays reports the revelation that the visions of certain attuned minds answer to some of the images of the quantum realm drawn from experiments in quantum physics. Consciousness is a quantum phenomenon expanded to the human scale of size by the central nervous system.
Get the Hardback version. It is vastly superior!.......2006-10-02
This book was originally conceived of and designed in the manner of an illuminated manuscript. The images are combined with the text to convey meaning. In the paperback most of the images are gone and the ones remaining are converted to black and white and shoved into the middle of the book where they lose their context.
42 years and still going!.......2006-07-03
As other reviewers have pointed out, the editor did not make it sufficiently clear that Dr. Jung only wrote one chapter of this book and that his role was largely in editing it. Nevertheless, the authors that were chosen did a wonderful job of presenting his ideas, and they're as fresh today as they were in the early 60s when the book was written. One cannot help but reflect on the Jungian notions of balance between the collective consciousness and unconscious as we reflect on some of the world events taking place today. The rise of raw fundamental Islam as shadow juxtaposed with the sterile West frequently came to mind. The role of dreams and symbols in processing our ongoing issues was also well developed.
As with all things related to Jung this is not the kind of book that is easily read. However, if you want to become aware of Jungian thought as it pertains to the universality of symbols, the dynamics of dreams and the collective unconscious, this is your book. For a more complete look at Jungian psychology as a whole I would also recommend The Portable Jung.
Gains and losses.......2006-01-18
In Man and His Symbols, Carl G. Jung says he is not denying that great gains have resulted from the evolution of civilized society, but these gains have been made at the price of enormous losses, whose extent we have scarcely begun to estimate. The gains are not hard to visualize, but the worthy of note discussion in Man and His Symbols indeed makes one feel more bothered about the losses side of civilization. Only the first of the five parts in the book is written by Jung himself, and I must admit that it is the one I enjoyed the most after all.
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Collected Works of C.G. Jung: 21 Volume Hardcover Set (Collected Works of C.G. Jung)
C. G. Jung
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
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ASIN: 0691074763 |
Book Description
The first collected edition, in English translation, of the writings of the late Swiss psychologist.
Customer Reviews:
Pricey but incredible.......2006-06-06
This set includes 19 actual books of Jung's psychology:
Psychiatric Studies CW1
Experimental Researches CW2
The Psychogenesis of Mental Disease, CW3
Freud and Psychoanalysis CW4
Symbols of Transformation CW5
Psychological Types CW6
Two Essays on Analytical Psychology CW7
The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche CW8
The Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious CW9 Pt. 1
Aion CW9 Pt. 2
Civilization in Transition CW10
Psychology and Religion: West and East CW11
Psychology and Alchemy CW12
Alchemical Studies CW13
Mysterium Coniunctionis CW14
The Spirit in Man, Art, and Literature CW15
The Practice of Psychotherapy CW16
The Development of Personality CW17
The Symbolic Life CW18
plus index/bibliography. It does not, however, include his autobiography (Memories, Dreams, Reflections), his interviews (C. G. Jung Speaking), his Letters (2 volumes of "Letters" plus the Freud/Jung Letters). Thus (with the 5 missing volumes) they total to 24 (2 dozen) volumes of Jung in English that we can read (mostly translated from German). So, this set of 19 real volumes is the bulk of Jung presently available in English. It's expensive (since it's in hardback) but incredible. Jung broke new ground that even today is scary to most psychologists/psychiatrists. He included mythology, some religion, some sociology/social psychology, etc. Jung was indubitably a genius & most assuredly a groundbreaker. This collection is invaluable to the serious Jung student. I think most of the Jung institutes/centers require its reading (if not ownership) of their candidates. Incredible brilliance herein.
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- Intensity-his mind was flooded with profound ideas
- Reflections
- Read and Reread
- The correct understanding of Jung's compensation theory
- An incredible chronicle of an amazing inner journey!
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Memories, Dreams, Reflections
C.G. Jung
Manufacturer: Vintage
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ASIN: 0679723951
Release Date: 1989-04-23 |
Book Description
An autobiography put together from conversations, writings and lectures with Jung's cooperation, at the end of his life.
Customer Reviews:
Intensity-his mind was flooded with profound ideas.......2007-09-14
This book is sublime, a GEM. In his subjective view of the world -"with half closed eyes and somewhat closed ears, to see and hear the form and voice of being" he arrived at an inspiring insight about life: supreme meaning of being can consist only in the fact that is,not that it is not or is no longer; nature, the mystery of love, the psyche, life, human beings, a state of lively contemplation of images is divinity unfolded (the greatest of miracles)-being conscious of this can come to you not through emptiness, imagelessneess or wanting to be freed from nature or yourself.
Here's a passage of the book that reflects the quintessence of his wisdom:
No language is adequate for this paradox. Whatever one can say, no words reflect the whole; for only the whole is meaningful...love "bears all things" and "endures all things". These words say all there is to be said; nothing can be added to them. For we are in the deepest sense the victims and the instruments of cosmogonic "love"- a unified and undivided whole. Being a part man cannot grasp the whole. He is at its mercy. He may assent to it, or rebel against it; but he is always caught by it and enclosed within it. He is dependent upon it and is sustained by it. Love is his light and his darkness, whose end he cannot see. "Love ceases not"-whether he speaks with the "tongue of angels", or with scientific exactitude traces the life cell down to its uttermost source. Man can try to name love, showering upon it all the names at his command, and still he will involve himself in endless self-deceptions. If he possesses a grain of wisdom, he will lay down his arms and name the unknown by the more unknown- ignotum per ignotius-that is, by God. That is a confession of his subjection, his imperfection, and his dependence; but at the same time a testimony to his freedom to choose between truth and error.
If we understand and feel that here in this life we already have a link with the infinite, desires and attitudes change.
Reflections.......2007-07-08
Jung's work is often difficult to read. This is an excellent introduction to his thinking, and a fine outline of his life. Man and his Symbols is also a good intro to Jungian thought.
However, over long, somewhat pompous comments are really not appropriate. Jungians would call this inflation.
Read and Reread.......2007-05-18
This is a book that I read with intense interest, I walked around the house , this book in hand.
C.G. Jung is caught here , his childhood, his quirks. He remains a very fascinating man. This is the only book about C.G. Jung I've read.
I particularly liked the chapter 'Late Thoughts", though the book in whole is very curiosity inspiring.
Loved it.
The correct understanding of Jung's compensation theory.......2007-05-17
According to Jung, the unconscious tries to "compensate" the "lopsidedness" in the conscious attitude, and dreams are part of this process. He says: "The relation between conscious and unconscious is compensatory. This is the best proven rule of dream interpretation" (Collected Works, Vol. 16). The examination of Jung's dream interpretations reveals that what he calls "lopsidedness" is a harmful mistake, or a harmful mental/behavioral failure, and "compensation" means the correction of the mistake, or the termination of the mental/behavioral failure.
As I explained elsewhere, the compensation of the lopsidedness in the conscious attitude by the unconscious is only a particular manifestation of the general truth that all functions of the mind, or all of its "topographical parts" in Freud's words, complement each other and constitute an integrated system, in contradiction with Freud's theory of conflict. In fact, Jung's theory was produced as a reaction to Freud's conflict theory. Consequently, we can equally say that consciousness sometimes compensates the lopsidedness in the unconscious attitude. Besides, it is most natural to expect such cooperation to work even when it is not possible to talk about any lopsidedness in the conscious or unconscious attitude. I described this cooperation in much detail elsewhere in my chapter on cerebral lateralization.
Again as I explained elsewhere, Jung's conception of the function of dreams is basically correct and constitutes a very fruitful idea. But he did not apply this idea adequately to dream interpretation, apparently because he did not express it clearly and used instead obscure ideas like lopsidedness and compensation. His major mistake was to assume that every dream presented the compensated state of the lopsidedness, or the corrected state of the mistake.
Jung could be able to produce a correct theory of dreams if he tried to answer the following questions: (a) What is the content of lopsidedness in general but clear terms? (b) How does the conscious attitude become lopsided and why it cannot correct its lopsidedness itself? (c) What makes the unconscious fit to compensate the lopsidedness of the conscious attitude? (d) In what measure the unconscious succeeds or fails in doing the compensation work, and why? (e) Most importantly, how does the unconscious do the job of compensation, or the correction of the harmful mistake? It is evident that in the absence of especially the answer to the last question, it is not possible to discover all the thoughts expressed by a dream.
As I explained elsewhere, a complete dream contains three types of thought: (a) the presentation of the lopsidedeness, or the mistake, which is treated by the dream; (b) the explanation of the cause of the mistake, or failure, which is often in the form of the external attribution of the failure; and (c) the correction of the mistake, or the termination of the failure. A complete dream begins either with thought (a) or (b) and ends with thought (c). Thoughts (b) and/or (c) may be missing in a dream or may be implicit in another part of the dream, but thought (a) is always present in explicit or implicit form because it is the reason why the dream is produced. In reality, this understanding of dreams is implied by Jung's compensation idea, because the fact that the unconscious can compensate the lopsidedness in the conscious attitude means that the unconscious is rational enough to do that, and the above three types of thought are the ones produced consciously and rationally when dealing with failures in the waking state.
Jung was not able to see these facts, because he could not free himself sufficiently from Freud's influence. Just as Freud interpreted everything in a dream as meaning wish fulfillment, Jung interpreted every dream as presenting the compensated state of the lopsided that it treated. In reality, a dream may present the lopsidedness instead of its compensated state, as exemplified below.
Jung's dream about his patient (p. 133): In his dream, Jung looks up at his female patient who is "sitting on a kind of balustrade," "on the highest tower" of a castle "at the top of a steep hill;" he bends his head back too far to see her properly and wakes up with a crick in the back of his neck.
Jung's interpretation based on the compensation hypothesis was this: "If in the dream I had to look up at the patient in this fashion, in reality I had probably been looking down on her." So, he assumed that the dream was telling him not to look down on her. This interpretation was based on the assumption that the dream scene represented what Jung had to do in real life, which means the solution of his problem, or the compensation of the lopsidedness in his conscious attitude. This interpretation contradicts the fact that Jung hurt himself in the dream by looking up at his patient and also by the fact that he considered his patient in real life "a highly intelligent woman." These contradictions can be eliminated by assuming that the dream scene represented the mistake that Jung was making in real life, or his problem, not its solution as he assumed. So, the correct message of the dream appears to be this: "You are making a mistake and hurting your interests by overestimating your patient." The implied advise was to stop overestimating her, which is the exact opposite of what Jung thought the dream was advising him. This interpretation is supported not only by the pain that Jung felt in the back of his neck at the end of the dream and his waking state evaluation of his patient as a highly intelligent woman but also by the fact that he was unable to realize progress in the therapy of his patient, evidently because he considered her a highly intelligent woman. This dream shows that the compensation hypothesis can cause a wrong interpretation even when the subject matter of a dream is approximately recognized, which is not always the case, and that therefore this hypothesis may also say nothing about the meaning of a dream. In such cases, Jung introduced obscure ideas in the interpretations, such as mandala, archetype, and collective unconscious, without explaining why these appear in the dream and what they precisely mean in relation to the dreamer's life. In fact, many of Jung's ideas are found "mystical." In opposition to this, Freud's interpretations are always clear and detailed but always wrong basically. But despite this fact, Freud's dream theory is more popular than Jung's, because it is found plausible due to the fact that it is produced by likening dreams to daydreams which mean wish fulfillment as everyone knows.
Jung's understanding of dreams needs to be corrected, or completed, also concerning the language of dreams. He criticized Freud's idea of dream symbolism saying that what Freud meant when he said "symbol" was "sign," and that a symbol was something more complex than a sign. Today the widely accepted view is that dream language is concrete-analogic, or concrete-metaphoric. In reality, most of Freud's dream symbols involved analogies, but many other writers abused the concept of dream symbolism and produced largely invalid dictionaries of dream symbols. Not only dream language but also dream cognition is concrete-analogic and therefore cannot use abstractions and logic. This is a consequence of the accepted view that dream thoughts are produced by the right brain which operates using concrete analogies instead of abstractions, speech, and logic. The verbal metaphors that are used in the waking state are also used in dreams in concrete pictorial form, because the source of both the waking state analogies, or metaphors, and dream analogies appear to be the right brain. Because of this, dictionaries of dream symbols can contain correct entries, but even the most common analogies can carry special meanings when used in dreams in relation to the dreamer's life experiences. Many otherwise correct dream interpretations by Jung and his followers are somewhat flawed because of they twisted the meanings of dream analogies in various ways. An example is below.
A man dreamed that as he came out of a meeting he put on somebody else's hat. Jung could say nothing about the relation of this dream to the dreamer's life experiences and claimed only that the hat represented the Mandela, which, according to him, is a concept present in every human mind. The analogic interpretation of this dream can be that the dreamer had easily accepted, or was in the habit of easily accepting, other people's ideas and views. This would be the presentation of a lopsidedness in his conscious attitude.
Jung was aware of the insufficiency of his theory and said: "There are still boundless opportunities for pioneer work in this field" (Collected Works, Vol. 16). Nevertheless, he and his followers produced many correct and nearly correct dream interpretations. Jung's readers can use his compensation theory better then he did by keeping in view the facts mentioned above and reading my books.
Jung's compensation theory can be seen as the solution of the problem of dream interpretation, and thereby of the problem of dream function, if the process by which compensation is realized and the analogic cognition and language of dreams are taken into consideration, both as explained above.
Cognitive-Behavioral Cybernetics of Symptoms, Dreams, Lateralization: Theory, Interpretation, Therapy
Theory Construction and Testing in Physics and Psychology
An incredible chronicle of an amazing inner journey!.......2007-02-24
I think Carl Jung was very ahead of his time and he was in sense an explorer like Columbus, except that his territory was the vast space of his own interior. My understanding of Jung is that he took his own explorations to the brink of psychosis in the service of understanding himself and the psyche. Whether you are a Jung fan or not, it has certainly been my experience that he has a lot of insight and wisdom to share with respect to the nature of the psyche.
This book is basically an autobiography and it is very dense reading. Jung was highly educated in a variety of fields and without some basic understanding of philosophy, major literary figures and mythology, it may be a difficult reading. However, if taken slowly, it is truly manageable and you will discover many gems.
I agree with some of the other excellent reviews that suggest that this volume presents Jung the legend more than being an objective account of his life. However, it offers a lot of insight into his thinking, major influences, etc. It is a fascinating story in itself.
I think this book is most useful and interesting to people who already know a lot about Jung. It is not the best introduction to Jung. If you want a good introduction, I would suggest Murray Stein's "Jung's Map of the Soul." Another concise introduction in Jung's own words is Aion. I would read one or both of these first before tackling this volume.
Book Description
A revised translation of one of the most important of Jung's longer works. The volume also contains an appendix of four shorter papers on psychological typology, published between 1913 and 1935.
Customer Reviews:
Jung defines his model of the psyche and how it works.......2004-12-01
With the possible exception of "The Symbolic Life," this is my favorite of the books in "The Collected Works" of C. G. Jung. Maybe it's synchronistic that one is CW18 and the other is CW8? In any case, this volume includes Jung's thoughts on many of his breakthrough ideas and concepts and describes his model of the psyche. His model adds a 3rd dimension (the collective unconscious) to Freud's (conscious and subconscious). Though, of course, Jung calls the subconscious the personal unconscious. This 3 dimensional view translates the subconscious into the home of the psychological complexes. Jung applied the mathematical concept of complexes (a complex number has a real or rational part plus an irrational [I'd call it non-rational] part which is a multiple of "i" = the square root of minus one). Jung didn't like what he called neologisms = newly created words; especially when an analogous word was already available. He also considered himself an empirical scientist and did not believe his theories were the last word in psychology.
p. 297 The purpose of research is not to imagine that one possesses the theory which alone is right, but doubting all theories, to approach gradually nearer to the truth.
In this volume, Jung explores the relationships among these three layers of the psyche as related to the real world and our knowledge of it.
p. 171 All knowledge is the result of imposing some kind of order upon the reactions of the psychic system as they flow into our consciousness-an order that reflects the behavior of a metapsychic reality or that which is in itself real.
People project their inner psyche upon the external world-very similar to the Tibetan Buddhist Dzogchen and Mahamudra philosophies in which the real world is empty of an inherent nature (it arises only dependent upon causes) and the reality we perceive is an integrated projection of sentient beings, itself being dependently arising. Of course, Jung did study Eastern philosophies and religions.
p. 207 A poorly developed consciousness, for instance which because of massed projections is inordinately impressed by concrete or apparently concrete things and states, will naturally see in the instinctual drives the source of all reality. It remains blissfully unaware of the spirituality of such a philosophical surmise.
Also, his theory of synchronicity (meaningful coincidences) supports this view of the relationship of psyche to matter. This is a bit reminiscent of the Einstein's view (now part of modern physics) that matter and energy are of the same nature.
p. 215 it is not only possible but fairly probable, even, that psyche and matter are two different aspects of one and the same thing. The synchronicity phenomena point, it seems to me, in this direction, for they show that the nonpsychic can behave like the psychic, and vice versa, without there being any causal connection between them.
However, the danger of identifying, incorrectly, to the world of matter on one hand is matched by the danger of identifying with the collective unconscious' Archetypes on the other.
p. 221 Subjective consciousness must, in order to escape this doom, avoid identification with collective consciousness by recognizing its shadow as well as the existence and the importance of the archetypes. These later are an effective defense against the brute force of collective consciousness and the mass psyche that goes with it.
Rather balance is to be sought in the Individuation process.
p. 223 Psychology actualizes the unconscious urge to consciousness. It is, in fact, the coming to consciousness of the psychic process. And--
p. 225 Conscious wholeness consists in a successful union of ego and self, so that both preserve their intrinsic qualities. If, instead of this union, the ego is overpowered by the self, then the self too does not attain the form it ought to have, but remains fixed on a primitive level and can express itself only through archaic symbols...If the ego is dissolved in identification with the self, it gives rise to a sort of nebulous superman with a puffed-up ego and a deflated self.
p. 226 Individuation does not shut one out from the world, but gathers the world to oneself.
This implies that we withdraw our projections from the world and make the unconscious conscious.
p. 342 Like primitives, we are at first wholly unconscious of our actions, and only discover long afterwards why it was that we acted in a certain way. In the meantime we content ourselves with all sorts of rationalizations of our behavior, all of them equally inadequate.
A megadose of profound psychology.......2003-06-19
_The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche_ is one of the better volumes out of the Princeton/Bollingen series of Jung's collected works, and is absolutely essential for any serious Jungian. I will go over the essays in sequence:
First comes an essay entitled "On Psychic Energy". This is the most difficult essay in this volume. Generally, Jung discusses his concept of the "canalization of libildo". This is interesting in that Jung tries to redefine "libido" by moving away from its traditional, purely sexual connotation. For Jung, libido is simply a generic form of psychic energy which can be redirected or "canalized" into both sexual AND non-sexual activities, such as religious rituals, dances, chants, and incantations. It is only when our intrinsic need for ritual is supressed that we find our libido forced to direct its energies into sexual perversion. Although the concept is interesting, the writing style of this essay is rather vague and opaque, and if you find yourself bogged down, I strongly suggest you skip this first essay. Don't worry - it's all downhill after this essay. The rest of the book is much more lucid and readable.
Next comes an essay called "The Transcendent Function", which basically deals with the healing breakthrough which is the goal of the patient in psychotherapy. Next is an essay dealing with the "Complex Theory". This essay deals with word-association tests in which the experimenter observes the subjects reations and hesitations when given a word that evokes embarrassing or painful memories. Both of these essays are very useful and informative.
Next we have about three more short but very profound and informative essays. Then comes the centerpiece of the book, a potent and spectaculuar classic of 20th century psychology entitled "On the Nature of the Psyche". This, along with "Answer to Job" is one of Jung's very best essays. It deals with an astounding range of topics, including the limitations and paradoxes associated with epistemology, and the dualistic and paradoxical interrelationship between subjective, inner psyche and the objective/outer world. This essay has much to say about the limitations of our subjectivity, and the degree to which we depend on other people and the outside world to attain consciousness. Jung does an excellent job in demarcating the thin line which divides the outer world and the sum of our subjective perceptions. Overall, this essay is a mind warping trip into a sea of paradoxical mysteries of the psyche.
After a short essay dealing with spirits, we come to a series of three great essays: "Spirit and Life", "Basic Postulates of Analytical Psychology", and "Analytical Psychology and Weltanschauung". These fantastic essays deal expertly with the delicate issue of fate and determinism vs. freewill, and the idea of achieving an objective attitude or "Weltanscauung". Jung warns against attempting to unite everyone under one objetive attitude or "ism". This can only lead to repression, nationalistic, racist, and PATRIOTIC BIAS, and ultimately, war. According to Jung, when one nation unites under an "ism" or Weltanschauung which is erronously believed to be objective and appropriate for everyone, we will end up with a repression of indivdual, diverse opinions at best, and at worst, will have a worldwide tragedy resulting from our quest to force this attitude on other people. (and yes, according to Jung's book, DEMOCRACY also counts as one of those "ism's" that we should not try to force on to other people). Of course this tragedy will be carried out under the banner of patriotism.
Next we have three more short essays which are very good, especially "The Soul and Death". After that, we have the famous essay, "Syncronicity", which is available by itself in paperback if you only want that. This is a fascinating essay dealing with paranormal psychic phenomena such as psychokinesis, ESP, and telepathy. If you want to see more details on this essay, see my corresponding review for the stand-alone paperback version.
Overall, _The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche_ is a monumental, epic work. A true magnum opus of psychology, I recommend this volume to anyone who is willing to take on a challenge for the pursuit of self-knowledge.
can't believe it's not available.......2000-06-02
This book is hardcore Jung explaining with his famous spectrum analogy the "third thing" of the psyche, that imaginal space wedged between matter and spirit. Very technical.
This is an absolutely essential reference on the Psyche.......1997-12-17
This is the most practical description of the structure and dynamics of the psyche available. It is a working reference that enables real self-understanding, the understanding of others, and the understanding of the dynamics between the two. With all of the mis-spent resources in the last ninety years on the study of behavior, and the growth of the behaviorists, this reference really enables a person to learn the details of the pre-cursors to behavior. In today's so-called knowledge-based work environment, a solid understanding of the psyche is essential, since 90% of the work is not what one would consider observable behavior. It's nice to know that such a valuable book is still available and still useful. It should be paired with Jung's Psychological Types, and the Two volume set of William James, practical psychology books. Wes Stillwagon
Average customer rating:
- Like New - Excellent Condition
- Dense and Obtuse, but Well Worth the Effort
- A Classic
- dense and yet...dense
- Nothing beats the classics
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The Portable Jung (Viking Portable Library)
Carl G. Jung
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Customer Reviews:
Like New - Excellent Condition.......2007-09-18
The book was in excellent condition when I received it. So far I have had only good experiences with all books ordered through Amazon. I am very impressed.
Dense and Obtuse, but Well Worth the Effort.......2006-09-18
I have a Ph.D. in Comparative Religion as well as a Th.D., so I'm no neophyte when it comes to arcane and occult themes. Carl Jung, however, is the penultimate obscurantist--at least in English translation--exceeded only by Martin Heidegger. So be prepared for a ride through verbal molasses. That said, this book is well worth the effort because understanding Jung is well worth the effort. His insights go far beyond psychology into that which is today called "spirituality" as opposed to religion.
Grasping the theories and insights of Jung is one of the most empowering things a person can do for themselves because he provides you with insights that will enable you to guide your own self-transformation.
A Classic.......2006-07-18
This is a fascinating book on Jungian thought and his psychological concepts. If you avoid being intimidated by the size of the book, and you methodically go through each page from the beginning to the end, you will grasp the extent and depth of Jung's intellect and ideas.
The word "archetype" is used by Jung to describe the concept of the strong unseen influences that result in predictable psychological states. He describes an archetype as psychic in form where instinct and conditioned behaviour can be observed in the behaviour of people. This can be observed in religious symbols, fairytales and stories.
Jung describes the existence of three layered psyche consisting of the conscious or active part of the mind, the personal unconscious, that is thinking over which we have little or no control and the collective unconscious, which he describes as animal-instinctive mental activity. The collective unconscious tells us that people are the same at the lowest, biological levels.
The book is a must read for those people who want a deeper understanding of their existence and some tools to help them explore the unknown. I recommend reading Jung's works and then compare and contrast them with that of Freud, who uses a different style. Reading these contrasting works should enable one to have a fuller appreciation of their existence.
dense and yet...dense.......2006-06-27
I don't consider myself to be a total idiot. I've read a little psychology, a lot of philosophy, quite a bit of mythology, and have a fair grasp of history. At the same time, I'm also open to what today we call "New Age" or "occult" even if I am always going to be a bit of a skeptic. None of that really helped here. Ever read a paragraph and realize that you didn't really get what you just read? This might happen if you're tired, or lose your focus for a minute. Then you go back and re-read it and it makes more sense. Well, The Portable Jung reads like that initial scenario for me from start to finish, no matter how focused I am. The thing is, when I read a summary of Jung's ideas from another writer, I understand exactly what is being said. The collective unconscious,anima/animus, the shadow...it makes sense. Then I read Jung's own writing and can't connect the sentences. My grandmother says it just must be "bad writing." I don't know. Maybe Jung sensed in his own time the hostility and ultimate rejection of his ideas by the scientific community and always wrote and spoke that way to avoid the ridicule that plainer speaking of such unorthodox subject matter would provoke. (Wow, multiply the awkwardness of that sentence by 10 and you'd think I was channeling the spirit of ol' Gustav). Ironically, Jung has pretty much been ditched by the psychological community and embraced by English majors, such as myself, who would receive the written equivalent of a scowl from our professors if we ever wrote with the pretentiousness and virtually alien syntax of this book. Anyway, I worked and worked at appreciating The Portable Jung, reading as carefully as possible. I really wanted to like it. But first I needed to understand what I was reading sentence by sentence. I never did (however, the reasoning, when the clouds occasionally parted, seems to be pretty much what you'd expect from anyone trying to justify what is essentially parapsychology. Check out the references to the 300-something "random" interpretations of a patient's dreams, which, ta-da, remarkably revolve around the idea of alchemy and an Asiatic symbol called a mandala). 2 stars, though, since I did start keep track of my dreams a bit more (however I have concluded that a recent dream involving rollerskating had more to a movie preview I saw the day before of "ATL" rather than the Wheel Of Life).
Nothing beats the classics.......2006-04-22
I recommend this book to clients interested in learning about Jungian thought. Just the introduction by Joseph Campbell is worth the skimpy price of admission and the depth and breath of Jung's ideas remain as powerful and intriguing today as they were when he first wrote more than 80 years ago. Concepts such as the Self, the collective unconscious, shadow, and introvert-extrovert remain great tools for self-awareness. Because it can be read in sections I often go back to it for reference and I find that every time time I do so I am rewarded with a new, deeper, understanding. Warning! You may have to use more than two neurons to digest this but the effort will be worth it!
Book Description
Courageous Souls explores the premise that we are all eternal souls who plan our lives, including our greatest challenges, prior to birth for purposes of spiritual growth. The book contains ten true stories of people who planned physical illness, having handicapped children, deafness, blindness, drug addiction, alcoholism, losing a loved one, and severe accidents. Because very different life challenges are often planned for similar reasons, readers who have not faced these specific challenges will nevertheless see themselves - and their motivations as a soul - in these stories. As readers come to realize that they themselves planned their lives, suffering that once seemed purposeless becomes imbued with deep meaning. Wisdom may be acquired in a more conscious manner; feelings of anger, guilt, blame, and victimization are replaced by acceptance, forgiveness, peace, and gratitude.
Customer Reviews:
So that's why . . ........2007-10-08
If you ever want to get into the backside of your pre-birth planning of your life challenges, read Courageous Souls by Robert Schwartz. Want to know why you attract illness, accidents, birth defects? Want to know why you chose a life of alcoholism or drug addiction, or are around someone who has? Read this book. The stories, while may start out slow at first, are powerful and insightful. Just stick with them. Robert uses mediums who are able to access multiple guides at one time, and your primary guide and listen in on conversations between you and your soul group.
not credible.......2007-09-30
I got to p. 300 and started reading another book. I found this book painstakingly slow to read, the information provided by the mediums: farfetched, and the conclusions drawn by the author, hard to swallow. Often, when mediums are tired, their accuracy rate diminishes. I never heard of any of the mediums used in this book. Robert Schwartz makes everything so complicated when the subject matter is really quite easy to understand. The book just doesn't flow easily and it's not a page turner in my opinion. I'm a believer, but this book really is a waste of time and money. Read Journey of the Soul by Michael Newton, PhD. Instead of using mediums, he enters the superconsciousness of his clients and elicits information from them directly about their experiences on The Other Side.
An Empowering Way to Reframe Painful Challenges in Our Lives.......2007-09-17
It has been said that asking oneself the question, "Who was I before I was born?" can teach us the most about our true spiritual identity -- yet few of us have been so enlightened as to have heard the full reply. COURAGEOUS SOULS takes this starting point one step further by exploring just how we may have crafted our entire life around all of our life circumstances -- both the high and the low points.
What sets Robert Schwartz's book apart from other books about spirituality, reincarnation and the afterlife is his organized use of intuitive readings as companion pieces to accompany the various life stories he includes. These intuitive sessions provide a deep sense of interconnectedness and unconditional love shared in our lifetimes which we sometimes lose sight of, as well as insights into how we continue learning life lessons from one life to the next. The stories include descriptions of people who have experienced tremendous suffering who are greatly inspired and relieved to see an underlying sense of purpose and meaning to all they have gone through.
COURAGEOUS SOULS is an exceptional book for anyone interested in exploring the true nature of their spiritual identity, who is willing to keep an open mind regarding the value of some of the most painful challenges we humans face in our lives on Earth; this is highly recommended reading for anyone seeking to reframe and find deeper meaning from the painful challenges, setbacks or hardships in their lives.
Some of life's challenges explained........2007-09-06
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Before I even finished reading this book, I ordered more and had them sent to my friends. This book is amazing.
Told through many soul journies, Robert Schwartz brought in the talents of true mediums who were able to discover decisions that these people made before they were born - again. He did not use just one medium, but several, and they are listed in the back of the book. The individuals who shared their stories are also listed with email addresses -- and if they are able and have the time they will answer your questions.
This book came to me at a time I really needed to be reminded of my own experiences through many lives and the time between our next life. The stories are beautiful because they are able to explain why certain tragedies happen to a person.
I highly recommend this book, especially to those with open and searching minds.
Why Human Challenges Exist!.......2007-08-28
Courageous Souls is highly recommended to anyone trying to understand the suffering, tragedy or loss that has caused them to question life, death and/or God. And who among us is not inflicted by such challenges and questions in our lifetime? In my eight years researching life after death, spirituality and life purpose, I have discovered no better explanation of why human challenges exist than what is so eloquently written in Robert Schwartz's book.
Bob Olson, [...]
Amazon.com
More than just a translation, Richard Wilhelm's I Ching is a profound introduction to the Chinese world-view. The I Ching (Yi Jing) is recognized by both Confucians and Taoists as a foundational work, and Wilhelm shows why. He separates his work into three books. The first book is about the hexagrams--the meanings of the lines and Wilhelm's extensive comments. The second presents two early commentaries that interpret the wisdom of the divinatory text, also with Wilhelm's helpful notes. And the third book takes us back to the hexagrams for more detailed commentary from both ancient Chinese thinkers and Wilhelm. Wilhelm is able to offer such enormous assistance because he spent the better part of a decade in China studying under classically trained scholars. His love for the work is thus as broad as his understanding.
The I Ching was originally used for divination, kind of like palm reading or interpreting the stars. It differs from simple prognostication, however, in that it demands us, as diviners, to cultivate an understanding of the world and ourselves. Without this understanding, the text is useless, hence the value of the commentaries, particularly Wilhelm's. This version is not without its biases, of course--it is a European's understanding of the I Ching, through a late-Qing dynasty Confucian perspective, translated into English by a Jungian psychoanalyst. Nonetheless, it succeeds like no other. --Brian Bruya
Book Description
The I Ching, or Book of Changes, a common source for both Confucianist and Taoist philosophy, is one of the first efforts of the human mind to place itself within the universe. It has exerted a living influence in China for 3,000 years, and interest in it has been rapidly spreading in the West.
Customer Reviews:
Timeless Oracle.......2007-08-30
Dependably delivers divine insights for the mortally bound. Once you master the simple way of accessing and apply the I Ching you will be surprised to find that it delivers much greater spiritual insights with less effort than other approaches -- daily Bible banging for instance -- and does it directly in context with your need(s).
More than just wisdom & divination..........2007-07-23
This I Ching is an essential tool of those seeking 'God' - in eclectic form. The I Ching orders one's life... so that God may speak back to you (2-way prayer, if you will)... and to send you on a life-long journey.
Or you can just dabble.
For those coming from a scientific or agnostic skeptiszm, this book allows you to prove for yourself the emperical existance of God. Even for the scientific atheist. Really!
How?
With constant use of the I Ching an obvious question results -"Who's messing around with the coins... these things are supposed to be coming out randomly?". And you might you suppose to just whom the 'Who's" refers.
One sees that the very act of random throwing coins begins to defy probability theory. Hexagrams are received just too strikingly close to reality and certainly not randomly distributed...and I taught college level statistics and experimental methods. In my lifetime I have probably "cast the coins" upwards of 300,000 times... bit i am very old.
Record the time, date and circumstance of each throw with a graded value (1 - 10) of how close to your reality the reading relates. The resulting scattergram will astound you... into accepting that there is more to this thing than meets even the 'inner eye'. You are in touch with something that sees right through you to your inner most thoughts. And then can proceed to "arrange your everyday world".
Godspeed my felow travellers.
Godspeed.
Service quality.......2007-05-17
The order arrived earlier. It was very safely packed. The books were in fine condition.
Instructions for Growth.......2007-02-06
This book contains wisdom, which is a rare quality. It may not be what some people call "accessible," but learning to access it will improve you. I've been holding a dialogue with the oracle since the late '70s; my understanding has grown in that time, but it may be that I have more to learn yet. This particular translation to me shows the signs of subtle genius, never mind that it's Chinese to German to English -- Wilhelm and Baynes knew what they were doing. If you're going to get a copy of the oracle, get this one. If you get a different one, still get this one, so you can compare them. I regard this translation as authoritative.
Superior edition!.......2007-01-08
Few translations match this one, other than Max Mullers. Worth the time to read.
Book Description
One of the world’s leading authorities on Zen Buddhism, D. T. Suzuki was the author of more than a hundred works on the subject in both Japanese and English, and was most instrumental in bringing the teachings of Zen Buddhism to the attention of the Western world. Written in a lively, accessible, and straightforward manner, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism is illuminating for the serious student and layperson alike. Suzuki provides a complete vision of Zen, which emphasizes self-understanding and enlightenment through many systems of philosophy, psychology, and ethics. With a foreword by the renowned psychiatrist Dr. Carl Jung, this volume has been generally acknowledged a classic introduction to the subject for many years. It provides, along with Suzuki’s Essays and Manual of Zen Buddhism, a framework for living a balanced and fulfilled existence through Zen.
Customer Reviews:
Another Finger Pointing At the Moon.......2007-09-29
D.T. Suzuki is considered one of the best spokesman for Zen Buddhism to non-Asian readers. He seems to do his best to make Zen clear and intelligible to the Western mind. He does give hints as to the nature of ideas like Satori and koans, the difference between Zen and Dhyana, and the structure of monastic life. He discusses the difference between Zen and Indian and Western rationalism and intellectualism, and he tries to show how Zen transcends Western logic. Nevertheless, I found the book baffling and unintelligible, but tantallizingly suggestive. I guess it's just another finger pointing at the moon, but it's a pretty eloquent finger.
Good intro..........2007-05-14
As my first book and intro to Zen Buddhism I chose this book, so take the 3 stars w a grain of salt.
I am 3/4s through the book and it feels authentic and you can feel the passion. Well written (with a few translation snaffus).
An easy read which I think, so far, a good intro.
Passionate Introduction to Zen.......2006-10-10
The stoic nature of the Japanese culture is well known but reading this introduction to Zen by D.T. Suzuki you can feel the passion in every word. This book is exactly what the title says, an introduction, designed to dispel common misconceptions (such as the charge of nihilism) and whet the reader's appetite for more with hilarious stories of the old Ch'an masters and give the briefest glimpse of what it might be like to experience satori (enlightenment). Can't recommend this book enough for anyone interested in Zen. Yes, he has some unkind words for Therevada Buddhism which is odd considering Zen seems to rely on one's own willpower more than other forms of Mahayana, but you must also consider that he may be talking about how those sects are practised in the modern era which can be and often is quite far from the ancient and venerated philosophies on which they are based.
Inspired, readable introduction to Japanese Zen .......2006-02-15
D.T. Suzuki was quite possibly born to write this book in particular, as enthusiasm and inspiration are his memorable talents as a writer on Japanese Zen. Suzuki is known as the designated guide to the modern West on the subject since the 1950's American love affair with all things Japanese.
When I first read this (I won't count the years now), I was blown away and felt like I had been somehow cheated not to have known about this book before. I didn't know how to incorporate Suzuki's lofty Japanese aesthetic of Zen into my own life, so I made my own authentic adaptation without fully realizing it. Yet, this is a kind of a blueprint for the optimium Zen experience, written with the aesthetic and the intellectual specifically in mind, but by no means pandering to either. See Suzuki's own Zen and Japanese Culture for a more aesthetically oriented take on Japanese Zen as a purely cultural phenomenonm but this is the introduction of all introductions to the true spirit and values of Japanese Zen.
Practical Spirituality.......2005-10-21
This book feels authentic and does not burden the reader with dogma or moral code. It is a simple look at a simple life practice, the art of zen. Suzuki is easy to understand without being overly simplistic. A good introduction to Zen.
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