The Freud/Jung Letters: The Correspondence between Sigmund Freud and C.G. Jung. Edited by William McGuire. Abridged by Alan McGlashan.  Penguin. £7.99.

This is a republishing by Penguin of Picador's 1989 abridged version of the Freud/Jung letters. The correspondence was edited by William McGuire and the abridgement is by Alan McGlashan. McGuire's lengthy introduction gives the story of how Freud and Jung came to correspond and also the fascinating tale of what happened to both sets of letters after the break in 1913: how they survived the ravages of European history; and the complex negotiations between representatives of both sides before it was finally agreed in 1980 that the correspondence could be published.

Altogether there survive about 360 letters. This abridgement omits some which are concerned with organisational details, and some which contain technical discussion. The purpose of this edition is to make available to a wide readership the documentary evidence of the relationship between Freud and Jung. Although there are longeurs at times, the letters are, of course, quite fascinating, and the build-up of tension in them as the relationship deteriorates is very powerful. The pain felt by each participant as he faced disillusionment about the other comes through very poignantly. So, too, does the distress of Emma Jung in the letters she wrote secretly to Freud in 1911 in an attempt to avert the rupture.

The analyst reader will probably want the unabridged version of this correspondence — the omissions in this edition are quite irritating at times. However, I think it is valuable to have this shortened version available in paperback. It can be recommended to trainees.