Jung and the Story of Our Time

by Laurens van der Post

'In these pages Jung not only lives, he thrives'
- New Society

Carl Gustav Jung's influence on the development of psychology has been immense. His ideas and even his terminology have entered the language in a way that is only paralleled by the case of Freud.

Laurens van der Post first met Jung shortly after the war when Jung was in his seventies. He was immediately impressed both by Jung's intellect and by his warmth and stature as a man. This book is both the story of their friendship and an unflinching portrait of a pioneering creative genius.

'Jung's inner and outer life, his ideas and their meaning for modern man, are finely woven together on the loom of van der Post's subtle understanding. Good food for the psyche' - Jacquetta Hawkes

Cover photograph by Karsh of Ottawa Camera Press

[Text from back cover.]

Genres: Biography, Psychology, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, Biography Memoir, Memoir

275 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Sir Laurens Jan van der Post was a 20th Century South African Afrikaner author of many books, farmer, war hero, political adviser to British heads of government, close friend of Prince Charles, godfather of Prince William, educator, journalist, humanitarian, philosopher, explorer, and conservationist.

Reviews

[Bharath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good summary of Jung's life and times. Covers what interested and motivated him. Does not discuss Jung's philosophies in any depth

[Merijn Kanters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was deeply moved at the end. One of the best books I've read in a long time. It reveals, in my opinion, the stone that we all refuse, but which will become the cornerstone.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times van der Post takes the most roundabout way to say something. Makes for tiring reading. But his subject is so fascinating I stayed with this cumbersome narrative. This is not an objective biography but a memoir of his encounters with a great and interesting man. It is a thoughtful, serious book with deep insight.

[Jennifer Cosgrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating portrayal of the author's experience and understanding of Carl Jung. An excellent "sequel" to Jung's Memories, Dreams, Reflections.
I will buy a copy for my personal library so I can return to it again and again.

[Zach Sattar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough to get through in fairness

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one who has witnessed the lightning collapse of the American Dream, the tragedies of the pandemic, and the ruination of our planet, can read this book without weeping. It may be the most accurately futuristic, prophetic, and timely of Jung's many works.
Published in 1975, this book is mainly about fears held by Jung in the 1930s, regarding the Germany of the 1930s. It is also a prophetic treatise about the more recent rise of fascism and the internal colonization of the working class, women, people of color and other marginalized people, in the United States, culminating in the present dire situation (2020), when the US is obviously broken, possibly beyond repair.
Jung describes patriarchy's war on both the anima (soul) and the collective unconscious (according to Jung, necessarily feminine in a rampantly patriarchal and extrovert nation, like Germany in the 1930s and the USA more recently). This vicious war has been carried out by the obscenely rich robber barons of the United States in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and was foretold by Jung in conversations with Laurens van der Post, just prior to Jung's death. Laurens, as a South African, a soldier, an anti-apartheid campaigner, and himself a prophet of our time, was in a particularly appropriate state to pass this message along to us in the unknown future.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

van der Post is a good writer, and the writing in the first chapters seemed to indicate this was going to be a goody. Where he describes his childhood, and experiences as a young man, the writing is rich, textured, evocative; in contrast, his writing on Jung is, well, awful, unconvincing, embarrassing. It progressively got worse, as it became progressively hagiographic, uncritical, and dare I say whitewashing of much of Jung's merely human and fallible being. Instead, Jung as messiah, Jesus like figure, who gave to the world his all (except when it came to being open about his wife, and lover Toni Wolff; the justification of burning her correspondence was weak, disingenuous; hard to believe vdP is that naive). And so onto the absolute insistence on Jung as a divine revealer of truths, with claims for proof that were muddled, mystical, and full of woo. Disappointing.

I'll read more Jung, who I know can provoke thought; and more van der Post, who I know has written much much better. I'd also love to read more about Emma Rauschenbach, and Toni Wolff, who seemed to have been sidelined and treated shabbily by history (and the Jung estate). But what else is new?

[Senake Atureliya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant introduction to Carl Jung's ideas and the power of listening.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been intrigued about Carl Jung lately and decided to start learning about him by reading this biography, written by Laurens van der Post -- author of two of my favorite novels (A Story Like the Wind, and A Far Off Place). My review is mixed. The book, describes Jung's life and work in the context of a close friendship the two men shared for the last 16-year s of Jung's life. They arrived many of the same beliefs intuitively, which was a great bond. Both of them were gifted natural philosophers and over the years they had many occasions to talk in depth about the ideas Jung was developing and writing about. In addition to their shared world view, van der Post had tremendous admiration for Jung as a person -- for his brilliance, curiosity, sensitivity, artistry, and integrity --and his ability to share stories that illustrate these qualities make this book more than a biography of Jung's contributions to modern psychiatric theory. All , is on the plus side. The negative is that the writing is extremely dense which makes it a slog to read. This took me by surprise given how effortless it was to get lost in his novels. By the end I admit I was skimming to extract the key points. Well worth reading, but be prepared.

[Ashley Ritchie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting yet superficial overview of Jung's life. Not Van der Post at his best- an almost shrill messianism inspires his vision of Jung. Biased and repetitive in its superlative unbounded praises; but I suppose Jung was an extraordinary man, perhaps he had this effect on others too?

[Norbert Staszak · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first 20 pages of the book are so bad I threw the book out in anger. The author is a religious idiot who does not perceive dreams scientifically, yet describes their nature. According to him Jung is prophet like. I have no time to read such bullshit. Worst experience in many years.

[Elissa Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful look at C.G. Jung, the man, from friend and master storyteller, van der Post.

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this one as much as some of his others.

[Joe Rodeck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rambling professor style. Couldn't finish.

** automatic for unfinished.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laurens Jan van der Post was introduced to Carl Gustav Jung by his wife Ingaret Giffard during their honeymoon in Switzerland in the early fifties. Jung was more than thirty years older than van der Post, but they had much in common as the younger man had already begun to write about his experiences growing up in southern Africa. Jung's theory of the archetypes of the collective unconscious provided van der Post with an ideological superstructure whereby he could bridge the gap between the black African cultures he wrote about and his own European readership.

The book represents not so much a friendship as its author's admiration towards and appreciation of an acquaintance whom he described as the greatest man he had ever known. This, coming from the godparent of a royal, is saying something. Jung, in his later years, was, by all accounts an impressive fellow, a charismatic.

Although the text does give a summary of Jung's life, it is certainly not the best. This is more a personal than a scholarly book. There are neither footnotes nor bibliography. Much of it is about the author himself.

[Ben]

Van der Post was a clost friend of Jung and clearly thinks that the man was the greatest thinkers of the 20th century. The book is a good introduction to Jung. If you've never heard of Jung, please check this out. Unfortunatley, I lost my copy on G2!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating account of the life of Carl Jung; the development of his psyche, experience and ideas on psychology; his ideas on the collective unconscious; the shadow which all men/women bear and the role of the inner feminine.