Jung: His Life and Work

by Barbara Hannah

This full-scale study of Jung's life and work is written by a close student, friend, and associate of more than thirty years. It is a lucid, penetrating account of his career, stressing the essential wholeness of the man and tracing the difficult path that led to that wholeness. From his earliest years to his death, through the crowded inner and outer events of his long lifetime, Hannah presents a view of the real Jung, not the creature of legend and cult. She treats his theoretical apparatus as well as such personal matters as his relationship with Toni Wolff and his supposed flirtation with Nazism. Here we see Jung's humanity and his genius as a "navigator of the unconscious."

Barbara Hannah (1891–1986) was born in England. She went to Zurich in 1929 to study with Carl Jung and lived in Switzerland the rest of her life. A close associate of Jung until his death, she was a practicing psychotherapist and lecturer at the C.G. Jung Institute. Her books available from Chiron include The Archetypal Symbolism of Animals; Encounters with the Soul; Jung, His Life and Work: A Biographical Memoir; and Striving Toward Wholeness.

Genres: Psychology, Biography, Nonfiction, History

499 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barbara Hannah was in a unique position to write this book. She was a student and a friend of Carl Jung’s for better than thirty years. In another book of Hannah’s, Encounters with the Soul, she had a tendency to idolize Jung, with lots and lots of “Jung said this” and “Jung said that”. I was concerned that might make this book, which she calls a ‘biographical memoir’, really unbalanced; however, for the most part, Hannah does an outstanding job of interweaving Jung’s own words, from conversations and from his published writings, with the events of his life. I came away with a deeper appreciation of this towering genius of depth psychology. And speaking of ‘towering’, I’d always assumed from photos that Jung was a short man. He was actually 6’2.

[Lynne Tull · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in 1996. These are notes I made in my journal:
Ego is the center of consciousness; however, consciousness represents only a fraction of the whole psyche. Self and Ego are two separate persons who are present in every "normal" human being.
Self is usually "unseen" (although it sees) ;"unheard"(although it hears); "unperceived"(although it perceives); "unknown" (although it knows); by the limited conscious ego.
Anima: the feminine figure in men.
Animus: the male figure in women.

I am really interested in the works of Carl Jung as compared to Sigmund Freud. His theories speak to me on a higher level than those of Freud.

[Chloe Noland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very thorough and interesting biography of Carl Jung, written by a devoted pupil and Jungian analyst in her own right. Hannah does a great job with the details, going chronologically through Jung’s entire life, and providing details on all of his important works and how they came to be, including some lesser-known ones. Sometimes the writing was a bit biased in its obvious servitude to Jung; I don’t think she said a critical thing about him at any point. You definitely got the impression that Jung could do no wrong and was even a bit of a Godly figure in her eyes. Despite this, if you want an informative and thorough biography of the man, this is it. She also referenced his own autobiography often and in context of what was being discussed, always referring to Jung’s perspective on any particular point, and being open to the fact that her POV was her own.

[Kieran Forster · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I continue on my strange yet satisfying attempt to read most written by and about Jung, whose insights have had such an impact on my life in psychotherapy, I found this biography very interesting and gave me many new perspectives on the lived existence of CGJ. I do think it’s important to understand how his life relates to his schemas and paradigms.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant take on a brilliant man.

[Scott Siegling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good information but a lot of extraneous stuff about peripheral people. Best seen as a companion to Memories, Dreams, Reflections.

[Anita Ashland · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent biography of Jung. The author was a Jungian analyst who spent a lot of time with Jung and weaves in many insights Jung shared with her.

[Auntjenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed it. Cringed a few times. Enjoyed her personal stories of Jung and the stuff about ww2 the most.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of many sympathetic biographies of C.G. Jung written by a female disciple which may also serve as an introduction to his thought. I read it in conjuction with a Jung course taught at Loyola Unversity Chicago's Institute of Pastoral Studies during the first semester of 1982-83.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book to be engaging and informative about the man and how he came to be who he was...