Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor E. Frankl & William J. Winslade

Man's Search for Meaning

By Viktor E. Frankl & William J. Winslade

  • Release Date: 2000-03-30
  • Genre: Psychology
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 2,387 Ratings

Description

Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl's theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos ("meaning")-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.

At the time of Frankl's death in 1997, Man's Search for Meaning had sold more than 10 million copies in twenty-four languages. A 1991 reader survey for the Library of Congress that asked readers to name a "book that made a difference in your life" found Man's Search for Meaning among the ten most influential books in America.

Reviews

  • One of the great books for a reason

    5
    By Coach Hobbs
    I do not agree with many of the author’s conclusions, BUT this is one of the great books written because of the efficient way in which some of the most horrific accounts of all time are described and how they were transcended.
  • Not your average history book

    5
    By 254@easy
    This is an incredible story.
  • A Transformational Book

    5
    By coop3878
    Some of my closest friends and I all started reading this book, mainly after our respective breakups or a loss of hope and meaning. This book played an essential role in equipping us with the knowledge to understand our feelings and head towards a brighter future.
  • Wonderful Read!

    5
    By Anna Daiky
    Beautifully written book, in way and meaning.
  • 10/10

    5
    By jamm1222
    This book is amazing, it’s definitely one of the best books I’ve ever read and it’s now my favorite. It really gets you to reflect on life and the inevitable trials that it comes with, and how it is through those challenges that you can find meaning in each moment you’re given depending on the attitude that you choose to have towards them. I also love when he said that the transitoriness of life creates the very challenge for us to do our best everyday — to live life actively not passively. This is a book I’d recommend to everyone I know!
  • Meaning

    5
    By bhen08
    This book ordered the chaos in my mind and soul. It was the perfect union of understanding the heart ache and trauma in my life. I took a more nihilistic approach, but this book gave me a path to overcoming and looking at my present pain as an opportunity, a way to prove that it wasn’t for nothing.
  • My review

    5
    By holdmybeer123
    This book truly hits the soul, they don’t call it one of the greats for no reason.
  • Better every time

    5
    By Ashleigh645
    This book is a wonderful contribution to humanity. Should be required reading in schools.
  • Great read

    5
    By jayufs578
    On of the best books I’ve read!
  • Good not great

    3
    By hg415
    Some interesting, compelling ideas but not my favorite book of all time