Man's Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy - Softcover

Victor E. Frankl

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0671781383 ISBN 13: 9780671781385

Publisher: Pocket Books, 1971

Synopsis

When Beacon Press first published Man's Search for Meaning in 1959, Carl Rogers called it "one of the outstanding contributions to psychological thought in the last fifty years." In the thirty-three years since then, this book - at once a memoir, a self-help book, and a psychology manual - has become a classic that has sold more than three million copies in English language editions. Man's Search for Meaning tells the chilling and inspirational story of eminent psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz and other concentration camps for three years during the Second World War. Immersed in great suffering and loss, Frankl began to wonder why some of his fellow prisoners were able not only to survive the horrifying conditions, but to grow in the process. Frankl's conclusion - that the most basic human motivation is the will to meaning - became the basis of his groundbreaking psychological theory, logotherapy. As Nietzsche put it, "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." In Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl outlines the principles of logotherapy, and offers ways to help each one of us focus on finding the purpose in our lives. This new edition of Man's Search for Meaning includes a new preface by the author, in which he explains his decision to remain in his native Austria during the Nazi invasion, a choice which eventually led to his imprisonment. It also includes an updated bibliography of books, articles, records, films, videotapes, and audio tapes about logotherapy.

About this title

About the Author

Born in Vienna in 1905, Viktor E. Frankl earned an MD and a PhD from the University of Vienna. He published more than thirty books on theoretical and clinical psychology and served as a visiting professor and lecturer at Harvard, Stanford, and elsewhere. Frankl died in 1997.

Review

One of the ten most influential books in America. —Library of Congress/Book-of-the-Month Club "Survey of Lifetime Readers"

"Viktor Frankl's timeless formula for survival. One of the classic psychiatric texts of our time, Man's Search for Meaning is a meditation on the irreducible gift of one's own counsel in the face of great suffering, as well as a reminder of the responsibility each of us owes in valuing the community of our humanity. There are few wiser, kinder, or more comforting challenges than Frankl's." —Patricia J. Williams, author of Seeing a Color-Blind Future: The Paradox of Race

"Dr. Frankl's words have a profoundly honest ring, for they rest on experiences too deep for deception... A gem of a dramatic narrative, focused upon the deepest of human problems." —Gordon W. Allport, from the Preface

"An enduring work of survival literature." —The New York Times

"[Man's Search for Meaning] might well be prescribed for everyone who would understand our time." —Journal of Individual Psychology

"An inspiring document of an amazing man who was able to garner some good from an experience so abysmally bad... Highly recommended." —Library Journal

"One of the great books of our time." —Harold S. Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People

"One of the outstanding contributions to psychological thought in the last fifty years." —Carl R. Rogers (1959)

Edition details

• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Publication date: 1971
• ISBN 10: 0671781383
• ISBN 13: 9780671781385
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 226