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Rating: 
Summary: Thee and We: must Be an Item
Review: I always recommend this book to my clients (I am an astrologer and VisionCoach) when they are struggling with a difficult love life. This short, pithy and to the point book, will tell you more about the real nature of love than you could possibly imagine. Johnson has a genius for putting things simply. But don't be fooled. There is more genuine wisdom and insight in this one book than you may find the entire rest of this year, browsing through the psychology and self help sections of the bookstore, library or searching on amazon!
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Summary: An Essential Examination of Western Romantic Assumptions
Review: I found this volume almost impossible to put down once I started reading it.
Author Robert A. Johnson has a very fluid writing style, and does a superb job
of exposing the archetypal aspect of romance and love relationships by discussing the implications of
the myth of Tristan and Iseult. I found myself strongly moved
by this volume, and it helped me work through some live and
at the time previously unexplored aspects of my own psyche. This book doesn't leave you feeling torn apart as many analytical
works on love do. It analyzes the emotions and expectations of
lovers in such a way as to allow one to re-examine one's own
love relationships and ultimately one's understanding of what
a love relationship should be. This is a timeless volume, which
transcends the stereotypical types of responses one has to love and love relationships. Western media and folklore have so thoroughly dwelt on this topic that I find it remarkable that this Jungian philosopher is able to significantly add to the tradition, by allowing one to consciously break down the archetypal influences that seem to so powerfully motivate us when we are in love. I found this book illuminating enough that after finishing it I had to purchase a copy for a close friend. Be aware that this type of progress doesn't happen in a vacuum, so this book may be somewhat troubling if you are a person who has
long cherished views that you do not want to question about love and romance. But if you are willing to subscribe to the author's thesis that love and love relationships can be improved by understanding their core motivations as reflected in myth and allegory, you will absolutely love this book as I did and possibly this book will change the way you look at love and life. Definitely a must-read if you are someone like me who is always falling in love and not knowing why.
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Summary: The Rosetta Stone of Relationships
Review: I have spent many years reading books, talking to counselors, and talking to friends about relationships. Reading Johnson's book was a real eye opener, to put it very mildly. I have enjoyed the author's style in his other books where he presents a myth and discusses it's psychological meaning. This book is no exception, except that it's relevance is way off the charts. Before reading "We" I had all but thrown my hands in the air in frustration regarding relationships. The author's beautiful style drills deep and answers the many questions I had. Johnson's use of the Tristan myth told me what I did not want to hear, but the pain I have experience in relationship told me that Johnson was right on the money. The author's analysis of romantic love and the distinction he makes between passion and true love (which is more low key and may even come across as boring sometimes) spoke loud and clear. He made me realize that I have been searching out there in vain for so many years for lady soul, because lady soul lurked within my unconscious mind. Since reading this book I was able to connect with lady soul and have that symbolic marriage that Johnson talks about. I highly recommend this book to each person who has a lot of questions about why relationships in our cultures are in a state of epidepic crisis. The author's answers may not be what you want to hear if you are a "zealous" romantic. If you are willing to stretch yourself and change, then Johnson's words are an excellent catalyst for changing your ways and heading in the right direction. I consider "We" among the most relevant books by Robert Johnson, and among the most relevantt books by any author!
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Summary: An excellent enquiry into modern-day Romance
Review: If you have any serious interest in relationships and what makes them tick (and who hasn't), and you read only one book then make it this one. A work of near genius, a deep and perceptive enquiry into the development of modern courtship and romance and how the myths of the past now come to dominate our love lives, frequently for the worst. The myth of Tristan and Iseult is a beautiful myth in itself and is retold in the book. Each section of the myth is followed by a series of carefully constructed arguments, applying a Jungian symbolic analysis to the contents of the text. Worth reading as a commentary on the myth itself but invaluable if you wish to follow the Dephic adage "know thyself" in the context of your own love life. I'd give this one 10 out of 10.
Rating: 
Summary: my letter to sandy!!!
Review: just some reflections on the introduction -- the part of the book i've read -- that i sent to a friend and then thought i'd go ahead and paste here:
i looked up that "we" book. you know it is funny because xxxxxx always listened to "parsifal" and we tooked pictures together as "tristan and isolde"! it looks like a good book. i have some things that i would change in the framing of his argument. for instance, just the other day i was talking to my friend xxxxx from mongolia and she, (out of the blue) said, "you know what really pisses me off is this idea that romantic love only exists in the west!" i think romantic love (which i am addicted to of course) is actually one of those intoxicating things that exist naturally everywhere, but that within a capitalist society it is elevated to the level of a commodity that you cannot be happy without. then, reified as such, it is used to create a false-lack in the psyche of the individual. you think "something's missing" if you aren't experiencing that intoxication. then the reified absence is used to sell other commodities like breath fresheners, cars, --anything that will make you "more worthy" of finding and experiencing the reciprocal romantic love that you are currently missing. you must get rid of cellulite and wear armani and use herbal essences and invest in bp etc. then you will be worthy. as such representations of love in capitalist societies cannot focus on contented couples because the lack is not there requiring products to fill it. captialism feeds off other constructions in the same way, for instance, the "myth of the happy functional family"--thankgiving around the dinner table--if you just bring the green-bean casserole with funyons around the perimeter everyone will get along like a norman rockwell painting. this seems to be the opposite (representation of the contented family) but in fact capitalism's representations have to focus on the things that are most difficult to achieve and sustain -- the rare good things (being swept off your feet in love, the family without issues). it is like the idea that in the 19th century fat women were considered beautiful because they were rare, it took money to eat enough to get fat --in today's society it is more difficult to be thin than fat because healthy foods cost more & spa membership, liposuction etc. thus, the saying "the standard of beauty in any given society is that which is the most difficult to achieve." and also these things are always tied to the socio-economic status which itself is most difficult to achieve (the 4% of americans who hold 90% of the wealth). but this is just my comment on the introduction. however i do understand that people reading about love don't want it served up with a healthy dose of marxism.
Rating:
Summary: my letter to sandy!!!
Review: just some reflections on the introduction -- the part of the book i've read -- that i sent to a friend and then thought i'd go ahead and paste here:
i looked up that "we" book. you know it is funny because xxxxxx always listened to "parsifal" and we tooked pictures together as "tristan and isolde"! it looks like a good book. i have some things that i would change in the framing of his argument. for instance, just the other day i was talking to my friend xxxxx from mongolia and she, (out of the blue) said, "you know what really pisses me off is this idea that romantic love only exists in the west!" i think romantic love (which i am addicted to of course) is actually one of those intoxicating things that exist naturally everywhere, but that within a capitalist society it is elevated to the level of a commodity that you cannot be happy without. then, reified as such, it is used to create a false-lack in the psyche of the individual. you think "something's missing" if you aren't experiencing that intoxication. then the reified absence is used to sell other commodities like breath fresheners, cars, --anything that will make you "more worthy" of finding and experiencing the reciprocal romantic love that you are currently missing. you must get rid of cellulite and wear armani and use herbal essences and invest in bp etc. then you will be worthy. as such representations of love in capitalist societies cannot focus on contented couples because the lack is not there requiring products to fill it. captialism feeds off other constructions in the same way, for instance, the "myth of the happy functional family"--thankgiving around the dinner table--if you just bring the green-bean casserole with funyons around the perimeter everyone will get along like a norman rockwell painting. this seems to be the opposite (representation of the contented family) but in fact capitalism's representations have to focus on the things that are most difficult to achieve and sustain -- the rare good things (being swept off your feet in love, the family without issues). it is like the idea that in the 19th century fat women were considered beautiful because they were rare, it took money to eat enough to get fat --in today's society it is more difficult to be thin than fat because healthy foods cost more & spa membership, liposuction etc. thus, the saying "the standard of beauty in any given society is that which is the most difficult to achieve." and also these things are always tied to the socio-economic status which itself is most difficult to achieve (the 4% of americans who hold 90% of the wealth). but this is just my comment on the introduction. however i do understand that people reading about love don't want it served up with a healthy dose of marxism.
Rating:
Summary: A very important book.
Review: Oh man oh man... Boy is this a good book for anyone interested in knowing themselves a little better. It gives great insight into how our western cultural programming is running our lives and what we can do about it. For instance, I had no idea that the idea of "romantic love" was originally a form of worshipping God. And that this romantic love idea doesn't exist in other cultures. Like in India, relationships are not based on falling in love but on committing to raising a family with somebody. Now this doesn't mean that eastern cultures have perfect marriages and that we should emulate them, blah, blah, blah... But just that it's different and interesting to think about.
One thing I didn't like in the beginning section of this book is that he does a lot of male ego bashing and female worshipping. This is the current trendy thing in the New Age/self-help/pop psychology arena. Everybody's bashing the male ego. Well, leave my male ego alone. I'll take care of it myself, thank you. And as far as female worship goes, that is just the pendulum swinging in the other direction. We've been doing all this patriarchy/father worship for thousands of years and now we're supposed to flip-flop over to matriarchy/mother worship. Big deal. I don't see how it's going to be any different. As you can see, I disagree with a few points in the book but what I really liked was the way he spoke about friendship in the second half of the book. It really hit home with me. Here's a quote:
"In romantic love there is no friendship. Romance and friendship are utterly opposed energies, natural enemies with completely opposing motives... Friendship takes the artificial drama and intensity out of a relationship, but it also takes away the egocentricity and the impossibility and replaces the drama with something human and real."
Awesome. Now the danger here is to run around romanticizing friendship... "oh this is my holy friend, etc., etc." but whatever. I guess you can romanticize anything if you set your mind to it. So, all in all, it's a very enjoyable book and Robert Johnson has a lot of interesting things to say. I look forward to reading some of his other books - and I expect to disagree with those also.
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Summary: "We" Answers Age-Old Questions
Review: One question I've always wanted answered: Why do men run off with other women? Finally, I've got my answer. Why? He is looking for his soul. As simple as that. Johnson explains this behavior through the myth of Tristan and Iseult, which sprang up in the Middle Ages as a response to a collective culture-wide problem, a longing: Western man had lost touch with his inner world of soul, symbol, archetype, and divine inspiration, and found himself looking to the physical world to supply everything he needed - every challenge, every drama, every satisfaction. But ultimately the world fails to provide what it is man really hungers for, which is a connection to the greater Being, the juicy part of himself that belongs in "the flow of the ages," and the feeling that his life is an "individual manifestation of what has always been and will always be." The outer world of possessions, people, and simple acts of existence cannot supply a man with this profound connection, but he believes it can, particularly in his relationships. He sees the woman in his life as his missing part, his vanquished soul, and his passion is set ablaze by her. He sees not a real woman, but a beatific image of his own unrealized potential. When his fantasy of her is trampled by the reality of everyday life, he goes on to the next woman. What he tragically fails to see is that his loving, caring, loyal, flesh and blood wife is a full and complete person in her own right, and it is not her job to fulfill his inner longings - he is the only one who can do that. But in his confusion, he sees each new female acquaintance as his Holy Grail, and to pursue her, he is willing to literally choke to death his real, living opportunities to love and be loved. We see this scenario played out so often in our culture, and it is clear that we need to learn what's going on. Johnson's book is a must-read for those interested in being in conscious loving relationship. A real eye-opener.
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Summary: Makes you rethink what love is
Review: Our media and culture tell us that romantic love "makes you whole, gives your life meaning, is like a torch in the dark, is something that gives you strength and courage ..." Johnson does a good job at pointing out that this is the symbolic equivalent of a religious experience. But what Johnson does isn't to demolish the wonder of romance, but instead gives us strength by showing that the "angel" you fall in love with comes from inside you. I also found this book more approachable than Johnson's "He" or "She" because his writing here is clearer and less concealed in Jungian terms than "He" or "She".
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Summary: The Bachelor Fans: Classic Model of What Men Really Want
Review: This classic work gives us a simple story and model for how men think, what they secretly want, and how men can see what it is they really need. I've incorporated a lot of this book in my own work (a hidden resource that I don't really mention or credit). At only about 100 pages and less than [$$], how could anyone miss out on buying this book.
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