Man's Search For Meaning: The classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust Paperback
Man's Search for Meaning was first published in 1946. Victor Frankl was a leading psychologist in Vienna when he was arrested for being a Jew during the Nazi regime. He survived the holocaust and used his experiences to write this book. He propounded the theory that it is Man's constant search for meaning that allows him to survive even the most brutal, the most degrading situations in his life.
He said there are only two races in the world, the decent and indecent. They will maintain their innate beliefs, no matter which side they are on. The decent ones will try to help the fellow human beings and the indecent ones will be selfish and serve themselves at the cost to the others.
Frankl's views were different from those of the leading psychologist of his times, Freud and Adler. His research was intensely personal and unique. His findings of human behaviour were based on the most extenuating circumstances that humans face. He suffered holocaust along with several other inmates and he observed their behaviour closely. He found that those with a capability to focus on love were the ones that survived. He based this observation on a long walk he was forced into by his captors. His companion spoke about his wife. This made Frankl think about his wife and the thought of her took his mind away from his current agony of being hit with rifle butts by his captors for dawdling.
The book has been listed as one of the 10 most influential books. It has a message of hope that has continued to inspire readers down the years.
About the author:
Victor Emile Frankl was a successful neurologist and psychologist dedicated to saving people from suicidal depression. He was born into a Jewish family because of which he was prosecuted by the Nazi regime after they took over Austria. He was banished to Nazi Theresienstadt Ghetto along with his family in 1942. He continued to practice as a Psychologist there and continued to treat people with depression. He was sent to Auschwitz in 1944 where he spent several months before they were liberated in 1945. He watched his family die in concentration camps.
He used his experiences as a holocaust survivor in his bestselling book Man's search for meaning. He worked at the Vienna Polyclinic for Neurology. He lectured extensively and conducted seminars all over the world. He lectured at the University of Vienna and Harvard. He wrote 39 books which were translated in several languages. He died of heart failure in 1997.
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Review
Remarkable...It changed my life and became a part of all that I live and all that I teach.
An enduring work of survival literature., New York Times
A book to read, to cherish, to debate, and one that will ultimately keep the memories of the victims alive -- John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
I have loved this book for so many years, and I think every human being should read it. -- Simon Sinek
Viktor Frankl...one of the moral heroes of the 20th century. His insights into human freedom, dignity and the search for meaning are deeply humanizing, and have the power to transform lives. His works are essential reading for those who seek to understand the human condition.
An enduring work of survival literature., New York Times
A book to read, to cherish, to debate, and one that will ultimately keep the memories of the victims alive -- John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
I have loved this book for so many years, and I think every human being should read it. -- Simon Sinek
Viktor Frankl...one of the moral heroes of the 20th century. His insights into human freedom, dignity and the search for meaning are deeply humanizing, and have the power to transform lives. His works are essential reading for those who seek to understand the human condition.
THIS BOOK REVIEW IS ONLY BASED ON MY FEELINGS DURING READING THE BOOK. IT DOES NOT INTENT TO HURT ANYONE’S FEELINGS, AND DOES NOT MEANT TO COMPARE WITH ANY OTHER REVIEWER’S FEELINGS.
Well writing a review for this kind of extraordinary book is a big audacity for me. however here I’m, trying to give some brief review of the book.
The book is basically divided into three parts, the first one describes the way the Jews prisoners were treated in the Nazi Concentration Camps and how their lifestyle was. In the second part, the author described the basics of Logotherapy, a way of treatment of the Psychotherapeutic Patients. And finally, in the third part, he described what he actually meant by Man’s Search for Meaning.
Being a Jew, the author was transferred to the Auschwitz, Dachau and other concentration camps during the Nazi occupation in Austria. Here, in the first part of the book, the author described his days in those concentration camps, where is were no chance of seeing the morning sun in the next day. And this happened every day. He described the way the SS guards used to treat the prisoners, the corruption prevailed in the camps, the malnutrition, the lifestyle of the camp Jews etc. The way he described the tortures the prisoners suffered, would surely bring tears to your eyes. During his description, he also pointed out the psychological condition of the other comrades in those camps. When most of the prisoners lost all hope of his life, some of them still kept the faith, that good days were coming.
In the second part, the author basically described the Logotherapy Techniques. And the most interesting part of the book is the third part. Here the author describes “Man’s search for meaning”. We, the human beings on this planet are living for a purpose. Until & unless we can’t find the purpose of our life, there is no reason for us to be here alive. Most of the prisoners in the camps lost all of their hopes and then died because they lost their purpose, as per the author. It is a must-read book for all I think.
The book also consists of a few life-changing quotes which I liked in the book and would like to share:
1. For success, like happiness, can’t be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.
2. There are things which must cause you to lose your reason or you have none to lose.
3. Suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great of little. Therefore the ‘size’ of human suffering is absolutely relative.
4. No man should judge unless he asks himself in absolute honesty whether in a similar situation he might not have done the same.
5. The human being is completely and unavoidably influenced by his surroundings.
6. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death, human life can’t be completed
7. Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it.
8. There is no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.
9. A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the “why” for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any ” how”.
10. The body has fewer inhibitions than the mind.
11. No one has the right to do wrong, not even if wrong has been done to them.
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