Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, a heartbreaking Holocaust survival story

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Extracts

The classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust

Man's Search For Meaning

Man's Search For Meaning is Viktor E. Frankl's account of his imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps and the psychological insights he drew from his experience. Combining personal testimony with his ideas about meaning and purpose, it offers a first-hand perspective on how people can respond to suffering and adversity.<ul><li>Topics: Meaning and purpose; suffering; resilience; responsibility; logotherapy</li><li>Places: Theresienstadt; Auschwitz</li><li>Period: Second World War</li><li>Perspective: First-hand account from a concentration-camp survivor and psychiatrist</li></ul> 
About the book 
In 1942, just months after marrying, Frankl and his family were deported first to Theresienstadt and later to Auschwitz. There, he observed how prisoners responded differently to the extreme conditions around them: some continued to comfort others or give away their last piece of bread, while others gradually lost the inner resources that had helped them resist the camps' degrading effects. 
 
These observations became central to Frankl's belief that even when circumstances cannot be changed, people retain the freedom to choose their attitude towards them. He argues that the search for meaning is a fundamental human drive, and develops these ideas through logotherapy, drawing on psychological and clinical examples alongside his own experiences. 
 
This special gift edition also includes a foreword by historian Sir Martin Gilbert and additional archive material, including selected letters and speeches by Frankl. 
 
Comparable books 
If you're looking for books similar to Man's Search For Meaning, these books also explore survival, suffering and the human capacity to find purpose or rebuild a life, through perspectives ranging from psychology to personal Holocaust testimony.<ul><li>The Choice by Edith Eger: Like Frankl, Eger writes as both an Auschwitz survivor and a psychologist, connecting her experiences during the Holocaust with ideas about freedom, resilience and the ways people respond to suffering. Where Frankl develops his philosophy of meaning and logotherapy, Eger focuses on surviving Auschwitz and learning to live again after liberation.</li><li>Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything by Viktor E. Frankl: These talks, delivered shortly after Frankl's liberation from Auschwitz, develop the same concerns with meaning, resilience and the possibility of affirming life in the face of suffering. Rather than combining camp testimony with an extended account of logotherapy, the book presents Frankl's emerging philosophy through a series of talks given in 1946.</li><li>A Delayed Life by Dita Kraus: Kraus's memoir shares Frankl's first-hand perspective on Nazi persecution and imprisonment at Auschwitz, while also recounting her experiences at Bergen-Belsen and her life after liberation. Its focus is more explicitly autobiographical, following Kraus from her childhood in Prague through the camps and into the life she later rebuilt in Israel.</li></ul>

Viktor E. Frankl (1905–1997) was a professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of Vienna Medical School and the founder of logotherapy. During the Second World War, Frankl survived three years in Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Dachau, where his parents, first wife and other members of his family were killed. He is the author of the international bestseller Man’s Search for Meaning, which has sold millions of copies and been translated into more than 50 languages worldwide.

A new special edition of the multi-million-copy bestselling classic, now with reading group questions. 
 
OVER 19 MILLION COPIES SOLD 
 
‘Every human being should read it’ Simon Sinek, bestselling author of Start With Why 
‘Viktor Frankl gives us the gift of looking at everything in life as an opportunity’ Edith Eger, Holocaust survivor and bestselling author of The ChoiceMan’s Search for Meaning has transformed the lives of millions of readers around the world. Drawing on Frankl’s experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War, it asks one of life’s most fundamental questions: how do we find meaning when faced with suffering we cannot change? 
 
Frankl came to understand that even in the darkest circumstances, we retain the freedom to choose how we respond – and can find meaning in how we live. 
 
More than 80 years later, his message of hope, purpose and resilience is as powerful as ever. A book to return to throughout a lifetime, Man’s Search for Meaning is essential reading for anyone navigating life’s hardest moments.Praise for Man’s Search for Meaning: 
 
‘An enduring work of survival literature’ New York Times 
 
‘Remarkable...It changed my life and became a part of all that I live and all that I teach.’ Susan Jeffers, bestselling author of Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway 
 
‘One of the moral heroes of the 20th century…His works are essential reading for those who seek to understand the human condition’ Rabbi Lord Dr Jonathan Sacks 
 
‘If you read but one book this year, Dr Frankl's book should be that one’ Los Angeles Times

21 Reflections on Living with Purpose

Viktor E. Frankl and the Search for Meaning

The official journalling companion on finding meaning in an unpredictable world, inspired by the enduring wisdom of 19 million copy bestselling author, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl 
 
Viktor E. Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning has transformed millions of lives with its message of finding purpose in the face of great suffering. Now, readers at all stages of life can dive deeper with this interactive reading companion, the only to be authorised by the Frankl family. 
 
Curated by two cofounders of the Viktor E. Frankl Institute of America, this book focuses on 21 themes central to Frankl's prolific writings, featuring a robust collection of timeless quotes, reflections, prompts and exercises to guide you on the journey toward leading a more meaningful and intentional life. Along the way, you are invited to contemplate views on humanity and uniqueness, freedom and suffering, work and wealth, and responsibility and community. 
 
Including space for written reflections and notes on each theme, this is the perfect gift for those beginning a new chapter of life or for anyone charting their own paths in the search for meaning.

On Freedom, Responsibility & the Meaning of Life

Embracing Hope

'Viktor Frankl gives us the gift of looking at everything in life as an opportunity' - Edith Eger, bestselling author of The Choice 
 
An inspirational new collection on turning tragedy into triumph by Holocaust survivor and 19 million copy bestselling author of Man's Search for Meaning. 
 
During his lifetime, world renowned psychiatrist and Auschwitz survivor Viktor Frankl had an unshakably optimistic outlook on life. He believed that regardless of circumstance, we can all find meaning and fulfilment in our lives, even in the face of great adversity. 
 
But how much influence do we have on shaping our own lives? How do we seize opportunities and create a meaningful life? And in doing so, can we still respect the dignity of others and tolerate all views? 
 
Published in English for the first time, Embracing Hope shows that by exercising our freedoms, we have a duty and responsibility to ourselves, to others and to the world around us. This collection of timeless lessons offers hope and consolation, admonition and warning, and reveals how to turn tragedy into triumph and lead a fulfilled, purposeful life.

'Viktor Frankl gives us the gift of looking at everything in life as an opportunity'

Edith Eger, bestselling author of THE CHOICE

'[A] resonant collection of lectures and articles. . . .the message is moving and his lyrical prose will stick in readers’ minds. . . .an inspiring introduction to Frankl’s thinking.'

'These essays are without a doubt the products of the difficult, often alienating century in which they were written, but the wisdom—and, perhaps more importantly, hope—they offer during a time of competing global emergencies and the threat of human extinction is both comforting and necessary. Decades-old writing that remains timely.'

Yes To Life In Spite of Everything

'Viktor Frankl gives us the gift of looking at everything in life as an opportunity' Edith Eger, bestselling author of The Choice 
 
'Offers a path to finding hope even in these dark times' The New York Times 
 
A rediscovered masterpiece by the 19 million copy bestselling author of Man’s Search For Meaning 
 
Just months after his liberation from Auschwitz renowned psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl delivered a series of talks revealing the foundations of his life-affirming philosophy. The psychologist, who would soon become world famous, explained his central thoughts on meaning, resilience and his conviction that every crisis contains opportunity. 
 
Published here for the very first time in English, Frankl's words resonate as strongly today as they did in 1946. Despite the unspeakable horrors in the camp, Frankl learnt from his fellow inmates that it is always possible to say ‘yes to life’ – a profound and timeless lesson for us all. 
 
With an introduction by Daniel Goleman. 
 
'Frankl’s is a voice that seems as necessary now as it was in the shadow of the Holocaust' Guardian

Offers a path to finding hope even in these dark times

Frankl’s is a voice that seems as necessary now as it was in the shadow of the Holocaust

An unmissable opportunity to understand the man and his work more deeply

Viktor Frankl gives us the gift of looking at everything in life as an opportunity

Edith Eger, bestselling author of The Choice

A rediscovered masterpiece by the 19 million copy bestselling author of Man’s Search For Meaning 
 
Just months after his liberation from Auschwitz renowned psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl delivered a series of talks revealing the foundations of his life-affirming philosophy. The psychologist, who would soon become world famous, explained his central thoughts on meaning, resilience and his conviction that every crisis contains opportunity. 
 
Published here for the very first time in English, Frankl's words resonate as strongly today as they did in 1946. Despite the unspeakable horrors in the camp, Frankl learnt from his fellow inmates that it is always possible to say ‘yes to life’ – a profound and timeless lesson for us all. 
 
With an introduction by Daniel Goleman.

Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning

An inspirational exploration of the psychology that enabled Viktor Frankl, bestselling author of Man's Search for Meaning, to survive the Holocaust

Brilliant! In this book, we are privileged to share the richness of Frankl's experience and the depth of his wisdom.

...to be treasured by psychologists and theologians and by men and women who wrestle with ultimate questions and encounter God as often in the question as in the answer.

At the start of the twenty-first century, this book feels especially relevant

from the Foreword by Claudia Hammond, award-winning broadcaster, writer and lecturer in psychology

Viktor Frankl was born in Vienna in 1905 and was Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Vienna Medical School. His wife, father, mother and brother all died in Nazi concentration camps; only he and his sister survived, but he never lost the qualities of compassion, loyalty, undaunted spirit and thirst for life (earning his pilot's licence aged 67). He died in Vienna in 1997. 
www.viktorfrankl.org

Viktor Frankl is known to millions as the author of Man's Search for Meaning, his harrowing Holocaust memoir. In this book, he goes more deeply into the ways of thinking that enabled him to survive imprisonment in a concentration camp and to find meaning in life in spite of all the odds. Here, he expands upon his groundbreaking ideas and searches for answers about life, death, faith and suffering. Believing that there is much more to our existence than meets the eye, he says: 'No one will be able to make us believe that man is a sublimated animal once we can show that within him there is a repressed angel.' 
 
In Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning, Frankl explores our sometimes unconscious desire for inspiration or revelation. He explains how we can create meaning for ourselves and, ultimately, he reveals how life has more to offer us than we could ever imagine.

The classic tribute to hope from the Holocaust (With New Material)

A handsome gift edition of one of the seminal pieces of literature to emerge from World War 2: Viktor Frankl's moving account of his experiences in Auschwitz. With new introduction and appendices.

If you read but one book this year, Dr Frankl's book should be that one.

His works are essential reading for those who seek to understand the human condition.

A poignant testimony...a hymn to the phoenix rising in each of us who choose life before flight.

One of the most remarkable books I have ever read. It changed my life

Susan Jeffers, author of Feel the Fear And Do It Anyway and Embracing Uncertainty

Perhaps the most significant thinking since Freud and Adler.

Remarkable...It changed my life and became a part of all that I live and all that I teach.

Susan Jeffers, author of Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway and Embracing Uncertainty

Viktor E. Frankl (Author) Viktor E. Frankl (1905–1997) was a professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of Vienna Medical School and the founder of logotherapy. During the Second World War, Frankl survived three years in Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Dachau, where his parents, first wife and other members of his family were killed. He is the author of the international bestseller Man’s Search for Meaning, which has sold millions of copies and been translated into more than 50 languages worldwide. Martin Gilbert (Introducer) Sir Martin Gilbert CBE was Winston Churchill's official biographer, and a leading historian of the twentieth century. An honorary fellow at Merton College, Oxford, he was knighted in 1995 ‘for service to British history and international relations’. He died in 2015.

The moving true story of psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl's time as a prisoner in Auschwitz and what we can learn from his experience. 
 
OVER 16 MILLION COPIES SOLD 
 
'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 
 
'Every human being should read this book' Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why 
 
In 1942, just months after marrying his wife, Viktor Frankl and his family were sent, first to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, and then to Auschwitz. 
 
A prominent Viennese psychiatrist before the war, Frankl was uniquely able to observe the way that he and other inmates coped with the experience of being in in the notorious concentration camp. 
 
During his time in the camps, he noticed that those who comforted others and gave away their last piece of bread often survived the longest. He saw that the kind of person a prisoner became depended, not just the influence of the camp, but on an inner decision. Those who let go of their moral and spiritual selves eventually fell victim to the camp’s degrading effects; those who resisted were able to turn their suffering into a kind of inner triumph. 
 
For Frankl, his experience was proof that everything can be taken from us except the ability to choose our attitude in any given set of circumstances. From this, he came to believe that our deepest desire is to search for meaning and purpose. 
 
This special gift edition includes a new foreword by leading historical Sir Martin Gilbert, and additional archive material including selected letters and speeches from the author. 
 
One of the seminal pieces of literature to emerge from World War 2, this powerful and inspiring book offers us all a way to transcend suffering and find meaning in the art of living. 
 
Praise for Man’s Search for Meaning: 
 
‘Remarkable...It changed my life and became a part of all that I live and all that I teach.’ Susan Jeffers, bestselling author of Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway 
 
‘An enduring work of survival literature.’ New York Times 
 
‘Every human being should read it.’ Simon Sinek, bestselling author of Start With Why 
 
‘One of the moral heroes of the 20th century…His works are essential reading for those who seek to understand the human condition.’ Chief Rabbi Dr Jonathan Sacks 
 
‘If you read but one book this year, Dr Frankl's book should be that one.’ Los Angeles Times

Viktor E. Frankl

Finding Purpose in an Uncertain World

The deeper philosophical companion to Man's Search for Meaning from the 19 million-copy bestselling author Viktor Frankl 
 
‘People may have enough to live by; but more often than not, they do not have anything to live for.’ 
 
In this thought-provoking collection of essays, Viktor Frankl expands on the groundbreaking ideas that made Man's Search for Meaning one of the most influential books of the 20th century. 
 
Drawing on decades of work as the founder of logotherapy, Frankl argues that our deepest human need is not pleasure or success, but meaning. When that need goes unmet, we experience what he calls the 'feeling of meaninglessness' – a condition that lies at the heart of many of today's emotional and existential struggles. 
 
Edited and introduced by Alexander Batthyány, Director of the Viktor Frankl Institute, this book brings together Frankl's most important writings on logotherapy, philosophy and existential psychology. Together they offer a deeper understanding of his enduring ideas and a compelling guide to living with greater purpose, hope and responsibility.

The Feeling of Meaninglessness

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