Man's Search for Meaning
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/CNN This seminal book, which has been called "one of the 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. A must-read companion to this classic work, a new, never-before-published work by Frankl entitled Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything, is now available in English. This book was published with two different covers. Customers will be shipped the book with one of the available covers.
--Anderson Cooper, Anderson Cooper 360/CNN This seminal book, which has been called "one of the 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. A must-read companion to this classic work, a new, never-before-published work by Frankl entitled Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything, is now available in English. This book was published with two different covers. Customers will be shipped the book with one of the available covers.
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Community Reviews
This is one of the best nonfiction books I've read. A huge part of why this book is so good is the because the source of the book is an author who has gone through and seen so much suffering. The same message wouldn't seem as valid coming from someone else. It's full of observations that anyone who has suffered can relate to- but that many who have not yet suffered have no familiarity with. And yet, the suffering Frankl experienced and witnessed is so extreme, that it's difficult to pity yourself-- or even doubt yourself-- in the face of it.
The first half of the book describes Frankl's experience in four concentration camps during WWII and the second part of the describes his particular brand of psychotherapy called "logotherapy." This therapy seeks to help people find meaning in their lives and even in their suffering.
Frankl doesn't try to tell you what is meaningful (though there is a strong bias towards helping others in the examples he gives that seems correct to me) but rather that person should pursue whatever is meaningful to them in the particular situation that they're in.
The first half of the book describes Frankl's experience in four concentration camps during WWII and the second part of the describes his particular brand of psychotherapy called "logotherapy." This therapy seeks to help people find meaning in their lives and even in their suffering.
Frankl doesn't try to tell you what is meaningful (though there is a strong bias towards helping others in the examples he gives that seems correct to me) but rather that person should pursue whatever is meaningful to them in the particular situation that they're in.
Lives up to expectations as being a profound, inspiring book. Definitely encourage everyone to read it and to think differently about life. The two things that stuck with me are that you can't control your circumstances but you can control how you respond to them / let them affect you. And secondly that we should spend our days like we have already lived them and made all the mistakes already. What would you do differently?
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