Jung Stripped Bare: By His Biographers, Even Book

This meta-biography (first of its kind?) permits the reader access to a highly specific topic, that of criticism of Jung's biographies, yet its specific content allows a serious reader of Jung to recognize certain blind spots in their previous reading of Jung and grounds any further reading one may do, whether in biographical material or beyond.

This short work opens up with a refreshing, deep account into the process of making the first autobiography Memories, Dreams and Reflections come together, even providing glimpses into the editorial process (is it a biography or autobiography?). Very useful yet may leave some readers questioning the relevance. I appreciated the bits from letters about Jung's humble apprehension towards representing his mundane life ("…No one knows what I am doing and it is not paintable and you cannot take a picture of it.") or the attempts to "catch the bird", to represent his deepest inner identity ("I am curious to see how Lucie Heyer is going to proceed: I still don't see exactly how she is planning to catch the bird.")

Also, it is very useful to know that the Complete Works are "glaringly incomplete. Thus, the biographies of Jung which have been written, together with the secondary literature, have based themselves on a textual corpus which is not altogether solid." The author Sonu Shamdasani had been editing the Red Book around this time (2005) and repeatedly notes that, along with the black books, most biographers had very little knowledge of the significance of these books to Jung's inner birdiness (or of the books' existence at all). As one about to perform a deep (personal) dive into Jung's life and works…these reflections are supremely helpful.

The author perhaps is a bit nit-picky, citing, for example, important but minor discrepancies between English and German translations of the CW (death (tod) was translated as a door (tor) in one paragraph). These would be useful for the editorial board that might provide a comprehensive update to the CW but not so much for the lay reader. In Chapter 4, he really lays into the multiple inconsistencies of a very popular biography by Dierdre Bair. The author makes his point and "proves" that all past biographies did not reveal the core thought and being of Jung and that much research is to follow. Sonu has done his homework and follows through diligently. I will be using Jung and the Making of Modern Psychology, Sonu's biography on Jung as a trusted resource based upon his offerings in Jung Stripped Bare.