Jean Shinoda Bolen's vivid grasp of the story & the characters in The Ring of Niebelung brings Richard Wagner's mythic four opera cycle to life. The Ring Cycle has a hold on our imagination like no other operatic work, because it is archetypal, & has the power of myth as well as music, to reverberate in the psyche. As in her acclaimed Goddesses in Everywoman & Gods in Everyman, Bolen shows how myth illuminates psychology, & more-Ring of Power goes beyond psychology of the individual, into dysfunctional families & patriarchal institutions. We see how the pursuit of power is destructive to the personality & relationships. In "Freeing Ourselves from the Ring Cycle," Bolen describes how seeing the truth & acting upon what we know can liberate us, & lead to authenticity & individuation.