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Man's Search for Meaning
by Viktor E. Frankl
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
Anyone of a philosophical bent
This book is a philosophical/psychological treatise filled with some truly excellent insights, but even despite it's extremely short length (my edition was only 211 pages including a very lengthy bibliography) it presented something of a challenge to me from an aesthetic standpoint. Simply put, Frankl is not a great storyteller, even when one would assume his subject matter--his own experiences as a Holocaust survivor--is gripping material by its very nature.
Approximately the first two-th...more
Approximately the first two-th...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommended to Emily by:
Robert T. Barrett
After the Book of Mormon, this would be my second recommendation to anyone looking for purpose in life.
Here's a poignant excerpt from one of my favorite parts of the book when Frankl has been in Auschwitz and other camps for several years and doesn't know the war is only weeks away from ending. He had decided to escape his camp near Dachau with a friend and was visiting some of his patients for the last time.
"I came to my only countryman, who was almost dying, and whose life it h...more
Here's a poignant excerpt from one of my favorite parts of the book when Frankl has been in Auschwitz and other camps for several years and doesn't know the war is only weeks away from ending. He had decided to escape his camp near Dachau with a friend and was visiting some of his patients for the last time.
"I came to my only countryman, who was almost dying, and whose life it h...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Everyone
According to Frankl, it is meaning, not pleasure (Freud), or "peak" experiences (Maslow), upon which human life depends. Meaning is what enables human beings to truly thrive in the world and bear up under life's burdens.
Moreover, it is not for man to ask, "What is the meaning of life?", but rather to recognize that it is he who is being questioned by life. And he must respond by answering for his life. Man answers this question by first becoming responsible. It is this &q...more
Moreover, it is not for man to ask, "What is the meaning of life?", but rather to recognize that it is he who is being questioned by life. And he must respond by answering for his life. Man answers this question by first becoming responsible. It is this &q...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in April, 2008
"For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's dedication to a cause greater that oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other that oneself."
"An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior."
"The camp inmate was frightened of making decisions and of taking any sort of initiative whatsoever. This was the result of a strong feeling that fate was one's mast...more
"An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior."
"The camp inmate was frightened of making decisions and of taking any sort of initiative whatsoever. This was the result of a strong feeling that fate was one's mast...more
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This book is a short read with alot of good stuff to make you think. It made me think back on my psychology class days.(sigh)...The first is of his personal expereinces in concentration camps ect, and the second half goes into his theory.Both parts I found very good. Just look at these quotes:
"Everything can be taken from a man but ...the last of the human freedoms - to choose
one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." p.104 (So TRUE)
"Ther...more
"Everything can be taken from a man but ...the last of the human freedoms - to choose
one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." p.104 (So TRUE)
"Ther...more
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If you have an interest in psychological and philosophical issues and usually only respect the advice of those who have walked their talk, then you need to read this book. Dr. Frankl endured the horrors of three Nazi concentration camps and then thankfully lived to document his experience and, more to the point, the effects of the camps' conditions on himself, his colleagues, and his oppressors.
The book's first part contains Dr. Frankl's observances of human nature in the concentration c...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
one wandering around the library
I'm really on the fence about this book. It's likely one I will pick up again in the future. The reason I'm on the fence is because I had a very different set of expectations for the book based on reading the outside back cover prior to buying it. I thought it would use Frankl's story to weave in the psychological theory he later describes as logotheraphy as the work unfolds. Rather, it was like reading two (almost three) different books. The first being a very vivid, unsettling and emotional ac...more
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Read in May, 2008
I had been wanting to read this classic for such a long time, and I don't think that I can say that I was disappointed. Although, I might have to read this at least a couple of more times in my lifetime, against the "backdrop" of my different experiences and resulting attitudes, to really absorb some of its content.
The first portion of Frankl's book describes his experience of living for three and a half years in a concentration camp. Many of the details of this horrible ...more
The first portion of Frankl's book describes his experience of living for three and a half years in a concentration camp. Many of the details of this horrible ...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Marcelle by:
Robinrecommends it for: everyone
...And as we stumble on for miles, slipping on icy spots, supporting each other time and again, dragging one another up and onward, nothing was said, but we both knew: each of us was thinking of his wife. Occasionally I looked at the sky, where the stars were fading and the pink light of the morning was begining to spread behind a dark bank of clouds. But my mind clung to my wife's image, imagining it with an uncanny auteness. I heard her answering me, saw her smile,her frank and encouraging loo...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
people interested in existential questions, logotherapy and/or the holocaust
this book was given to me by a good friend of mine and i definitely recommend it. a pretty fast read too.
it is a first hand account of concentration camps during the holocaust and how people survived this (and how some didn't)- how many people still found meaning and hope in life when they were dehumanized and so much was stripped from them.
frankl's main point is that meaning is the main goal and driving force in people's lives. and that without it people lose hope and have less...more
it is a first hand account of concentration camps during the holocaust and how people survived this (and how some didn't)- how many people still found meaning and hope in life when they were dehumanized and so much was stripped from them.
frankl's main point is that meaning is the main goal and driving force in people's lives. and that without it people lose hope and have less...more
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Read in November, 2007
I thought the book was good and worth the read, but not to the extent that most other reviews have implied. If I were religious I may have enjoyed it more. Even though Frankl never mentions anything religious directly, I noticed some common overlapping themes. The story was moving, but poorly written/translated at times(Frankl wrote it in 9 days). His theory has value and utility for most people, but it is described in unnecessarily difficult language (possibly attributed to the translation)...more
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Read in January, 1983
recommends it for:
anyone over 13
Reading this book in high school changed my life. I grew up in an abusive home and was in constant survival mode. After reading this book I realized that I had a choice. I could let my circumstances dictate my attitude or I could choose my attitude, which could then change my circumstances.
Becoming an adult is the hardest thing we every do. Being an adult means accepting responsibility for your thoughts, actions and character. I realized that I can choose my thoughts and actions regardless ...more
Becoming an adult is the hardest thing we every do. Being an adult means accepting responsibility for your thoughts, actions and character. I realized that I can choose my thoughts and actions regardless ...more
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bookshelves:
non-fiction
recommends it for: Everyone
Read in January, 2008
recommended to Jami by:
Ellisrecommends it for: Everyone
I loved this book! The first section is based on Frankl's experiences in concentration camps during WWII. At first, I had a hard time getting into the book because I was expecting this first section to be the author's "story." Instead, he uses examples of different experiences in concentration camps to show points he is making about his theory, called logotherapy. He doesn't give you a complete story of his time as a concentration camp prisoner, though. Once I realized this, it ma...more
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bookshelves:
existentialism
recommends it for:
EVERYONE!!!!
I have read this book many, many times. These are the words I live by. If I was told that I could only own one book for the rest of my life, this would be it.
Viktor Frankl's harrowing testimony of surviving in a concentration camp seems incomprehensible. Even more unbelievable is the attitude he adopts during his struggle as he remains apart from his family, starving, cold, and forced to perform hard labor with no relief in sight. Through it all, he decides that even though his body is bein...more
Viktor Frankl's harrowing testimony of surviving in a concentration camp seems incomprehensible. Even more unbelievable is the attitude he adopts during his struggle as he remains apart from his family, starving, cold, and forced to perform hard labor with no relief in sight. Through it all, he decides that even though his body is bein...more
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Read in October, 2007
I like this book. The author is more than qualified to speak on the heart of what motivates a person to live and live for a greater purpose than our day to day. Being a victim of the holocaust, but surviving such camps as Auchwitz, Dr. Frankl makes the following key points:
1. Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire.
2. Everything can be taken from man except one thing; the last of human freedoms, to choose one's own attitude in any given set of circumstances, to ch...more
1. Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire.
2. Everything can be taken from man except one thing; the last of human freedoms, to choose one's own attitude in any given set of circumstances, to ch...more
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The title is translated from the German "Mann" which is also the generic form for "people" or "one's", I think they should change that translation because in English it could turn away readers who do not identify as men.
apart from that, this is an excellent book about a jewish psychologist's experience in the concentration camps in Germany, who couldn't help but analyze the different ways in which people coped, or did not cope, with the experience.
This is no...more
apart from that, this is an excellent book about a jewish psychologist's experience in the concentration camps in Germany, who couldn't help but analyze the different ways in which people coped, or did not cope, with the experience.
This is no...more
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recommends it for:
everyone
This is a book that, if you welcome being affected and changed, can do so. I feel lucky to have never read it until this year, so I could have the pleasure of discovery now. I always thought existentialism has gotten an undeservingly bad rap, so the well-argued stance for a positive existentialism is much appreciated. The challenge to find and create meaning should be an exciting one. At minimum this book provides a reminder of things that matter, things that don't. It's also a call for our best...more
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Read in January, 2004
recommends it for:
soul seekers, meaning of lifers
People who grab this may think it's just another fad self-help book whose popularity is undeserved, but far from it. The book is profound and uplifting despite the first half of it being couched in a harrowing recollection of life at a holocaust camp. Existential concepts are pulled from the mire of misunderstanding and undeserved ill repute and given their due in what Frankl coins logotherapy. It's a fascinatingly simple (on the surface) yet positive approach to living one's life, regardless of...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
Thinkers
This book is amazing. It is Viktor Frankl's memories of his experience in four concentration camps during World War II. It is sad to read about the terrible things that he and others went through in these camps, but it is also very inspiring to hear about how some men rose above themselves in service to others and how these men found purpose in their lives and meaning in their suffering. If you have ever struggled with any thing in life (which pretty much everyone has) or if you sometimes strugg...more
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bookshelves:
to-read
I just re-read my old kid favorite "The Devil's Arithmetic" for our book club. It made me in the mood for more books about Nazi death camps. Okay, not really. But this is probably one of those books I will be glad I read when I'm done.
PS. We had the book club discussing "The Devils' Arithmetic" tonight. So far, I am not so impressed with my book club, god bless their hearts. Only two of us actually read the book. I suppose since it was my fifth-ish time reading it, I coul...more
PS. We had the book club discussing "The Devils' Arithmetic" tonight. So far, I am not so impressed with my book club, god bless their hearts. Only two of us actually read the book. I suppose since it was my fifth-ish time reading it, I coul...more
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