A book for finding purpose and strength in times of great despair, the international best-seller is still just as relevant today as when it was first published.“This is a book I reread a lot . . . it gives me hope . . . it gives me a sense of strength.”—Anderson Cooper, Anderson Cooper 360/CNNThis seminal book, which has been called “one of the outstanding contributions to psychological thought” … outstanding contributions to psychological thought” by Carl Rogers and “one of the great books of our time” by Harold Kushner, has been translated into more than fifty languages and sold over sixteen million copies. “An enduring work of survival literature,” according to the New York Times, Viktor Frankl’s riveting account of his time in the Nazi concentration camps, and his insightful exploration of the human will to find meaning in spite of the worst adversity, has offered solace and guidance to generations of readers since it was first published in 1946. At the heart of Frankl’s theory of logotherapy (from the Greek word for “meaning”) is a conviction that the primary human drive is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but rather the discovery and pursuit of what the individual finds meaningful. Today, as new generations face new challenges and an ever more complex and uncertain world, Frankl’s classic work continues to inspire us all to find significance in the very act of living, in spite of all obstacles.
This gift edition come with endpapers, supplementary photographs, and several of Frankl’s previously unpublished letters, speeches, and essays. This book was published with two different covers. Customers will be shipped one of the two at random.
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I had this book for a bit and then one day the time was just right to read it. If you feel your life is tough then read this. I have so many books that make me so appreciate what I have. Thank you Viktor Frankl and again Dr. Wayne Dyer for the recommendation.
The outcome of many a debate is determined in advance by the opening presumption. For example, do we assume a proposition is correct and require evidence against or assume it is false and require evidence in favor?
Viktor Frankl’s genius consists of applying this principle to the question of the meaning of life. In MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING, he proposed that we should not demand meaning from life, but rather recognize that life demands meaning from us.
More than that, since the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and even from hour to hour, what matters is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s particular life at a given moment. And from this it follows that each person has his own specific vocation in life and must carry out a concrete mission. In that special assignment he cannot be replaced.
Even under the tyranny of the Nazi death camps, where Frankl was a prisoner for nearly four years (described in Part One of the book), or the Soviet Gulag, where almost everything could be taken from a person, Frankl insisted that one thing remained, the last of human freedoms: the ability to chose one’s attitude under any circumstances.
For me, reading MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING as a young man was a life-changing experience. It settled in my mind the question of determinism vs. free will. It established for me a working hypothesis that my life could be pulled by goals as well as pushed by drives. As Frankl points out, between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our power to choose our response and in that choice lies our growth and freedom. In short, it doesn’t matter what we expect from life but rather what life expects from us.
In my opinion, MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING should be on the core reading list of every American who aims to preserve human freedom and dignity.
NOTE: For anyone facing an existential crisis, I recommend Frankl’s speech to fellow concentration camp inmates in the winter of 1944-1945, which can be found on pages 102-105 of the book.
Frankl was a young Jewish psychiatrist who survived the death camps. His observations of his fellows and how they chose to react under unthinkable circumstances was, amazingly, an exhilarating rather than a devastating reading experience. I underlined the hell out of this little book. One of many fervent underscores: “…any man can. even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him — mentally and spiritually.” So, we choose life, and choose how to live it.
This book made/allowed me to realize the importance of my life’s choices, even the little ones, and to be proud of my life’s circumstances: caring for my dogs, my husband, even to deciding the next book to read. OK, my husband, my dogs…..
Mr. Frankl’s logo therapy appears to be as relevant today as it was when he was studying/writing the subject in the late 1930’s through his death. His personal story and insights are indeed tragic and inspirational.
I’ve read this book multiple times. It is in my reference library as I am inspired by it. Man’s Search for Meaning has gotten me through some pretty tough times.
I cannot choose a single word because no one word answer would do this book justice nor could a single word begin to describe this work, this book’s observation of the darkest corners of humanity and yet how hope can still survive when hope is trying to be extinguished off the face of the earth.
This is my favorite book. Ever. In the interest of inclusive language, I’ve seen this title changed to The Search for Meaning. Frankl’s focus on our greatest freedom–our attitude–is important for all of all always.
Victor Frankl knows so much more about life and living than so many of us. This is a book I’ve read and re-read and pondered….
This is another life changing book that I’ve read. It was an assigned reading book during the beginning of my spiritual formation. It is a book that I go back to often. I feel it should be required reading for every high school senior in today’s world. It just might change the course of some more lives. It’s the kind of book that keeps you thinking long after you put it down each time. It will keep you up at night. It will invade your mind and your heart.
While the book is a bit tedious to read, I think this is only understandable as Frankl lived through and is describing hell on earth in this book. I think books like this are important as a witness to history, and maybe as a lesson and a guard against what cruelties humans can do to each other.
Extraordinary book! I could have highlighted every sentence. A must read!
All of life is choice…however tragic the moment, we alone define our experiences.
This is the one book that I have seen referenced more than any other around a “must read”, as it is truly the most life changing book you can read, no matter how your life is going.
In a nutshell, Frankl demonstrated the impact of positive thinking in making it through this journey we call life.
If you haven’t read it, you must and then give it to someone else to change their life!
I’ve never been more humbled by a book. Thank you for writing this (RIP)
Man’s Search for Meaning is written by a Holocaust survivor with a deep understanding of the psychology of humans especially in these tragic and tormenting times. It has become a classic in trying to understand this era.
A great read and a must-read for anyone seeking the meaning of life.
I have to say that this is one of my favorite books of all time. I wish I would have read this book at a younger age, when the world seemed so bleak and when the world of psychiatry (as then and still as today) reduced ones existential anguish to that of “chemical imbalance.”
I am surprised that I had never heard of Logotherapy, and am surprised that even though this book is one of the most recommended books of all time the messages and thought seem to still be so utterly ignored.
This book was so full of gems that I read it at a snails pace and collected so many quotes along the way. Read it, and drink it in slowly like a fine wine.
An important work to be read multiple times through the years.
Amazing insights.
This is a must read book for all.