Frantz von Papen was a german statesman and diplomat, born in Werl to an ancient Westphalian Catholic family of nobles. His life spanned World War One as well as World War Two. Having experienced both as a german, he definately has an interesting inside look at the Nazi regime and the cause of its rise to power. Many have accused von Papen of being a Nazi and I encourage all who are interested, to read his account of his life. He was tried and aquitted at the Nueremburg Trials. However, he was sentenced by the german denazification court (perhaps because of his harsh view of Bolshevism), but released immediately after an appeal. Read the memoirs and ask yourself, was von Papen acting as a patriot trying to serve his country, or a Nazi collaborator. Did the fear of Bolshevism lead the government to enact poor legislation, or is this an excuse. Read von Papen's rather aristocratic side of the story and make your own conclusions. Beyond the politics, this is a facinating read not only of WWII which is only half the book, but also all the events leading up to WWII including WWI and the the Versailles Treaty.

This book is incredible.

It's presented in the format of the original lectures that it was based on (Sometimes that means she repeats important points for the audience's memory, but it never hurts, and its the only stylistic oddity).

Content-wise it is mind-blowing. I like Marie Louise Von Franz so much because she takes all these obtuse ideas that Jung had, and gets them to make so much sense and have such a real life and personality and weight to them, which is often hard to get by just reading the original material straight from the horses mouth (Jung being the horse, in this case).

This is a great book about synchronicity. It spends a whole lot of time talking about integers and chance and stuff like that.

This is a wonderful book about how the psyche believes in life beyond bodily death. It is full of stories, myths, and experiences that will wake you up. I have given away so many copies of this book that I always keep an extra on hand. I am glad it is back in print.

This is THE essential book to help men and women understand each other (as well as themselves). Marie-Louise, more than anyone else, has deeply understood Jung and successfully applied his insights and methodology. The archetype of the Feminine is especially misunderstood in our era, with its predominantly rational-istic outlook. This book is a psychological gem of her wisdom and brings Jung's approach down to earth without sacrificing accuracy (I wish this were true of more Jungians). Of her famous lectures on Fairytales, this stands out, along with Shadow and Evil, and Individuation in Fairytales, as core books that not only every Jungian, but any interested "layman", should be intimately familiar with. Having first read it in 1985, I personally benefited immensely from it not only by gaining valuable insight into my own anima, or feminine side, but by better understanding the real psychology of women. This also greatly improved my relationships with women.

Things I like about this book that have nothing whatsoever to do with it's content: Nifty shade of red on the cover, it's not too big and in my recent aquisition of a crippled mental state not too intimidating, Marie Louise von Franz's name, the charming and magnetic ugliness shared by both MLVF and Flannery O' Conner that I find endearing and fasncinating and which makes me want to call them both up (I know I know they're dead) and invite them over for fresh bread and tea, the fact that it has the word "meaning" in the title something which I would desperately like in my life in some form at the present moment,and the fact that in my purchasing of it I got two, count em', two stamps on my card at Tidal Wave Books and am that much closer to my ten bucks worth of book credit at that aforementioned establishment.

Things I like about this book that have specifically to do with it's content: Von Franz is amazingly to the point. (Unfortunately for those of us looking to BE redeemed, often the point is that there is no set way to do that. [A formula, a formula, my kingdom for a formula] But, I won't hold that against her.) There's a ton of stuff behind what she's saying and she lets you know that without getting bogged down in it. She edits herself well. What amazes me is that this book is basically transcribed notes from a series of lectures, so she's doing all this editing verbally. That's cool. The subject is also cool. What she's looking at is 1) which events in fairy tales indicate themes of redemption (beating, chopping off body parts, bathing, burning, and the tossing on and off of animal skins) and 2)what the heck that might mean to me. Here's the amazing thing: she actually does make it mean something to me.

Slight Digression: I have a German father and I was read all those gruesome little Grimm fairy tales as a child. I loved them, but I wasn't in the habit of thinking that they were particularly applicable to my personal life. I mean, there's not a whole bunch of talking animals and evil stepmothers chopping my sisters up into itty bitty pieces in my life. But, low and behold, I read Von Franz, and I see "Oh, maybe I have been walking around in a donkey-skin after all."

Back to the Book content Bit: VF intersperses her commentary with dreams and case histories of her patients, quotes from Konrad Lorenz about animal behavior, and stories about her dog. She makes it all work. She doesn't give us any set format for how we should go about being redeemed, but rather, gives us a sort of verbal map of the great territory such a subject covers. She lets us peek through the door at the force behind the symbols that manifest themselves in dreams and fairytales that points us to our individual "right way". Right On.

Last Digression: Oh, I wish I could have her to tea.

Anyone who has read anything else by Marie-Louise von Franz knows what to expect from one of her books - erudition, encyclopedic knowledge and plenty of down to earth clinical advice. The spirit of Jung breathes out of every single page and can't help but capture and hold your attention.

Marie-Louise von Franz was a disciple of Carl Jung and has been one of the pre-eminent expositors of Jungian Psychology. In this magnificent book, she considers time from almost all conceivable perspectives: mythological and religious notions of time, cyclical time and linear time, synchronicity and divination, and the perspectives of modern physics: Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. After the opening essay is a dazzling array of images - visual representations of the idea of time (again, from ancient mythological representations to bubble-chamber tracks). Overall, this book is a scintillating virtuoso display, sweeping across cultures and through history to the present day.

This book comprises a series of lectures on Greek, Arabic and European alchemy. Since it is not written material every word is not weighed, which is a problem within the field of Jungian psychology. It's, however, quite interesting. One major surprise is that St. Thomas Aquinas is, with great likelihood, the author of the alchemical work 'Aurora Consurgens.'

Mats Winther

I first discovered Marie-Louise Von Franz in her collaboration with Emma Jung in their extraordinary book "The Grail Legend", which is by far the most intellectually coherent book I have ever encountered regarding that material, in which they place those strange and surreal stories in the framework of a Jungian perspective on the history of consciousness. In these lectures on alchemical symbolism, Von Franz applies many of the same Jungian techniques to explore some important alchemical texts.

I especially appreciated her decision to explore three texts in depth, rather than simply presenting a survey of alchemical literature, since there are numerous other books that do that. The fact that this is a transcript of a lecture series actually adds a wonderful dramatic tension to the book, since it includes some encounters with the attendees that demonstrate both her tremendous humanity and her impressive understanding of the subject and its relevance to modern psychology.

One of the most provocative concepts presented is the danger of an individual experiencing an overload of revelation from the unconscious, with its accompanying challenge of integrating more insight than a mere mortal can manage. Von Franz explores this concept especially well in the discussion of the text by Thomas Aquinas, where we learn about his very stressful final years in a very moving lecture that continues to provide me with much to ponder.

If I had my time over again I would read these three books on alchemy in the following order: All of them are excellent in their own sphere to introduce a complex process.

(1) The Forge and the Crucible - Eliade
This is an excellent prehistory of alchemy showing the patterns of thought out of which Alchemy most probably arose. An easy read.

(2) Anatomy of the Soul - Edinger
Set out according to seven processes involved in alchemy Calcinatio, Solutio, Coagulatio, Sublimatio, Mortificatio, Separatio, Coniunctio, this is an accessible book that puts each process in reasonably neat boxes, (though the considerable overlap and intermingling is acknowledged). The approach is somewhat mechanical.

(3) Alchemy, an Introduction... - Von Franz.
More 'organic' than Edinger, Von Franz has a very warm and human touch. She deals with the origins of alchemy in Egypt and Greece and delves into the 'Aurora Consurgens', attributed to Aquinas. She includes relevent and interesting case material. Being a transcription of lectures, it is a little haphazard, though none the less informative for that.

Great read, if taken slightly tongue in cheek. Remember he was a spy and while he does much to reveal the inadequacies of the German military machine and extol that of the British, he was a man used to lying and deceiving. His view of 'truth' might just differ from yours and his whole account is best viewed sceptically. There is a lot that does not ring true. The coincidence of him being invited to the very party where the very man assigned to hunt for him is present. It makes good, exciting reading. Is it true? How could a man who was German pass himself off to establishment Englishmen as their fellow countryman and it not be noticed? His accent and use of English must have been exceptionally good. Americans could be fooled but the English? Highly unlikely. I think there is some truth in the book but he has, for artistic reasons done substantial embellishing. I agree with the other reviewer, it would make a great film or short TV series. Lots of uglier sides to life shown, high drama and comedy thrown in. We should seach for an historical perspective though to get a more rounded out picture of the man and what he really did. I would really recommend the book-I read it in a day and a half and was so sad when it finished. A very satisfying read, leaving you wanting more of the same.

This is a real gem of a book. It was recommended to me by a friend and the very next day I found a 1938 Penguin Edition staring out at me in the second-hand book store. For the 50cents it cost me, it was one of the best reads in my life.

Von Rintelen was a German Naval Officer in WWI and was one of those cobbled together in desperate times to work on espionage eassignments all over the world. Speaking either North American or British English, he could disguise himself effortlessly as a businessman interested in buying armaments for the western allies in New York. While America was still neutral Von Rintelen planted bombs on transports and munitions ships, disseminated false imformation, and even organised his own labour union (inviting US congressmen to speak at some of its conventions) all usually with the help of disgruntled Irish Americans wanting to help cripple the English war effort. All the while he established a string of false companies to buy and trade in NY.

The vignettes are incredible and worthy of a hollywood thriller. He ends up at a hotel party in Massachussets and finds out that the British Naval Attache assigned to look for him is attending the same party that night. Von Rintelen, decides right away to join the party and introduces himself to the British Attache as .... of all people... a British Naval Commander sent from London on special assignment to apprehend this Von Rintelen chap! (Really himself). Of course without instantaneous email or transfer of pictures over the wire, the British Attache has no idea that he is indeed talking with Von Rintelen (hillarious!), while Von Rentilin, over drinks, proceeds to draw out all the information British Naval Intelligence know on hilself.

He was eventually arrested in the Channel while on a Dutch Liner heading back to the country disguised as a Swiss National.

This is WWI and the ruthlessness of later wars is not present. His opponents are mainly honourable "genetlman" where he enjoys the commraderie of other English Officers whilst in confinement in England. His first glimpse of "democracy" happens when he is shipped back to the US as common spy (despite the fact that this may have been technically illegal under international law --- even at the time) and incarcerated in Atlanta until 1921. That he only got 4 years for espionage and sabotage is a interesting indication how far the US has come: in 1917 they gave German Spies 4 years and in 2002 they are executing teenagers and the mentally handicaped for capital crimes -- progress?

His descriptions of Southern Jails is also interesting and his empathy with the criminals is an interesting refrain for this German gentleman.

A highly interesting and fast paced book that should be made into a movie.

Interesting story of Europe dragging America into war. The final chapter on his imprisonment until long after all other POWs were freed and the harshness of southern prisons.

In Man and his Symbols (1961), Jung's last book, Jung and four of his disciples (Von Franz, Henderson, Jaffé, and Jacobi) team up to introduce the world to the collective unconscious and its manifestations in mythology, art, dreams, and even science.

Jung suggests that man's greatest adventure lies in the exploration of the inner world of the psyche. By getting in touch with the unconscious (especially through dreams), one is supposedly able to activate latent guiding powers that will help him become a stronger individual. Jaffé's essay details a case where a Jungian anaylsis is successful, and it convinced me.

For a basic grasp of the collective unconscious and the archetypal symbols and how they relate to you, this book serves. It's very easy to understand, and its simple language and many illustrations make it easy to work through.

The only disappointment is that the book is too simple. Given only a taste of the basic concepts, you are left wanting more depth and a wider discussion of Jung's ideas. As Ms. Von Franz says in the closing essay, "This book sketches only an infinitesimal part of his [Jung's] vast contribution to this new field of psychological discovery."

There are only two titles of Jung's I know of that were meant for general consumption: _Man and His Symbols_ and _Memories, Dreams, Reflections_. The rest, most of which are part of the 20-volume Bollingen series, are too involved and technical.

Lest the reader be misled _Man and His Symbols_ is an anthology of essays by several authors, namely and in their order of appearance, Carl Jung, Joseph Hendersen, Marie-Louise von Franz, Aniela Jaffe, and Jolande Jacobi. All the co-contributors are Jungian analysts themselves and so are versed in the subjects they cover. Jung picked them himself and supervised the work until his death in 1961, after which von Franz took over. Perhaps not by accident Jung finished his own essay just 10 days before his demise. His essay (just over 90 pages out of the 400 or so pages) touches, naturally, on the unconscious, the very crucial subject of dreams, the archetypes, extraversion/introversion, religion, good and evil, among other topics. Given the scope, this essay of his offers a sort of synopsis of his worldview and life's work, perhaps one of the best summaries since it was his last published piece.

Amongst Jung's books that I've read, his essay in this anthology is by far one of the most engrossing. Unfortunately I have to eke out a living like most of you so I can only savor it in installments. Of course I highly recommend this volume if only to whet your appetite for Jung's psychology, a psychology that has not only served me well, but continues to fascinate me, a psychology that is faithful to its roots--a true logos of the psyche.

When I picked up this book all I knew about Jung was that he was a close associate and friend of Freud. I put it down wanting to read every thing else this man ever wrote. "Man and His Symbols" outlines the Jungian ideas on the unconscious and the symbols it houses that manifest themselves on our dreams. It gives you a wider scope of humanity that proves to be enlightening and comforting in a crazed world. I was quite surprised at how easy this book proved to read in comparison to other psychology books I have read. It provides a clear overview of Jung's life work and a good introduction to his take on psychology as well as the world. Some parts were written in a curiously personal manor that enhanced a spiritual aura this work seemed to take on. This book really struck a deep cord in me and many of the people I have recommended it to.