Man's Search For Meaning, Gift Edition Kindle Edition

If you're in pain, read this book. If you're scared, read this book. If you are lost, read this book. If you are happy, read this book. If you have time, read this book. If you don't have time, read this book. Read this book, read this book."We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

When I first started reading Man's Search.... last week I was repulsed by the descriptions of the concentration camp experiences. How could humans be like that? Even though of course we have known about them for 70 years now, it is horrible to read about them. My temptation was to put the book aside, I told someone it was "depressing." But how glad I am that I persevered (because it was our Book Club choice this month.) Ultimately, this book is a hopeful paen to humankind's ability to rise above all suffering, to find our own individual meaning to our existence and in that way make sense of why we are in the world and why we should continue in it, doing our very best. This book transcends religion even as I recognize so much of what Frankl writes in my own religious beliefs.Truly a must read for people as soon as they are old enough to understand it--perhaps mid teenage years.

For some reason, I put off reading this book for many years. I had read excerpts that made me want to read it, but getting the book and sitting down to read it just seemed to not fit into my plans. I am so glad I finally read it. For about twenty years, I read many stories about World War Two. I wanted to know why no one helped the Jews. The most gratifying part of the reading was to find that there were many people that endangered their own lives and the lives of their families in order to hide Jews from the Germans. So, to follow a Jew into the concentration camps and read his observations was enlightening. Some survived the camps while others died. They all ate the same food, suffered the same diseases, performed the same work, and suffered the freezing temperatures. Why did some survive? That is what Victor Frankl wanted to know and with close observation, he saw the pattern that gave meaning to life and helped some survive while others gave up and died. His ideas are applicable to modern day problems as well as his methods.

I read this in college and ordered again to read some 40 years later. Frankl relates the severe conditions in the concentration camp. Those without any purpose seemed to perish. Those that had developed purpose and meaning to the harsh conditions got out of bed every morning to face another unbearable day. this book is a classic. anything less than 5 stars would be a reflection on me.

This one's definitely in both my MUST READ and ALWAYS RECOMMEND categories -- a book that will spark all readers to consider the life they have lived so far and their own ability to alter the future. But, though the book is less than 200 pages long, it is NOT an easy read, which keeps me from awarding five stars.Author Viktor Frankl (1905-97) was an internationally known psychiatrist, author, and survivor of multiple World War II concentration camps. He is considered the founder of logotherapy, a branch of clinical psychology that focuses on each person exploring their own personal "meaning of life."The book, which Frankl remarkably wrote in just nine days, is divided into two parts:• The first section recounts his experiences and observations from the concentration camps. He candidly recounts a range of horrors he witnessed and tries to explain why he believes some people were destined to survive, while others were not. While these stories are painful to read (and I had to take a break at times), for me, this was the MOST compelling part of the book.• The second section is more Frankl's explanation of logotherapy as a therapy technique. It is dense and reads much like a textbook.But the reason I will recommend this book is the value I see in Frankl's treatment approach. Because instead of concentrating on a person's past traumas and explaining their impact on current behavior (as many types of therapies do), Frankl asks patients to concentrate on the future, using the power of their mind to reshape and reframe their lives. In this, he seems very forward thinking, especially since he came up with the basics of logotherapy in the 1930s, long before medical science recognized the value of "positive thinking" in treating diseases of the body. Well, this book convinced me that it appears "positive thinking" can also help treat many conditions of the mind.

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 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 completed7. 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.

The book says, ‘The Classic tribute to hope from Holocaust’. And Sir Frankl was a “Holocaust survivor".This book has two parts:1.Experiences in a Concentration Camp.2.Logotherapy in a NutshellThe second part is so impactful and unique that you will re-read this book. The first part mainly is the autobiographical account of Sir, Frankl and the best part is both parts mutually support their credibility.The way he has poured all the pain in this book is not so easy and that too after experiencing it, I was literally shocked because firstly, I was unaware of the term “Holocaust”, maybe I have read before somewhere in History but I was unaware while reading and Secondly, I had never come across something like this.He has talked about everything related to life in this book and you know what the best part is even after so much pain, I felt sad but I wasn’t demotivated, I could relate it and with each page-turning, what I found was ‘I am into the book’, suffering all this but I wasn’t tackling all the worst situation in my life as he did.Suddenly I started understanding that what life is? what suffering is? and what surviving is? and where am I lacking?So, in another way, I discovered the answer to three most important questions which I wanted to be answered since maturity.I came across a new word “Logotherapy” and I loved that section so much that I will re-read this book.In one line, I learned a lot from this book, which I can further practice to live a peaceful and beautiful life ahead. And this what makes this book worth reading.

Very moving book, in a kind of Dith Pran way... he is clearly mentally resilient and robust to find a way of dealing with the harsh conditions of a slaughter camp called Auschwitz, without being dehumanised. Two quotes really moved me " if you can understand the why in your suffering, you can find the how in your suffering". And after being released in 1945, although depersonalised by the awful conditions there, 3 weeks later he was able to say" I give thanks to God who has led me to a spacious place".. He reluctantly agreed to write a script which as we know became this book.Anyone who feels their life has no meaning or purpose, as our society has become increasingly Dickensian in the last 10 years, will find hope, as I did, to motivate myself to lead a fuller life, in spite of some of life's setbacks. I feel a winner, now, and am grateful for a special mentor who gave me her copy to learn wisdom.... I bought my own copy, as above to refer to it in times of stress. Other than that, it is a great read, which casts an objective eye on a period of history, some would rather forget.

This is wonderful book, inspiring and wise. My uncle was taken by the Nazis and was almost dead due to typhus when the camp at Dachau was liberated. He was discovered in a heap of bodies by a doctor who noticed a flicker of his eyelids. He was taken to hospital in Budapest and survived until 1967. This book gave me an insight into what he must have suffered. He never complained was always cheerful and full of mischief. The second half of the book about logotherapy is also very interesting and worth reading.

I knew that this book would be affecting and impactful, but I hadn’t actually realised how. I thought it would be a traumatic read, overly empathic response, too immersed in the emotive horrors.But actually it’s a detached prose (insofar as a scientist who lives his unchosen experiment can write) which signifies the importance of finding meaning in life.It’s like a really visual, visceral reminder that we can survive anything if we choose to. If we have our attitude reframed or we do it ourselves. If we see purpose or meaning in suffering, we cannot die.Quite a profound read that gave rise to new thinkings and questionings in my head, and which I intend to follow for my own personal development and flourishing but also as a path to teach others.Thank you, for going through it, sharing it, understanding it.