This book provides an original perspective on the work of Jung, in its cultural and intellectual context. Unlike many other studies of Jung, it is neither debunking nor adulatory. The author, who is Finnish, writes from the intellectual traditions in which Jung's thinking was formed. Here, this reader felt, is someone who understands what Jung was about and how to approach his work. This is a history of ideas.

The book draws an intellectual portrait which combines a serious critique with a detailed assessment of what was achieved. His interest is primarily in the ‘metatheory’,