About the Book
Charting Frankl’s experiences inside a Nazi concentration camp, this autobiographical piece gives a unique insight into what it was like enduring such horrendous conditions.
Rather than bare the gory details, Frankl does so much more. He gives insights into daily life and offers a glimpse of the daily battles someone inside a camp had to face.
From what is described, it wasn’t so so much the external battles but the internal ones which provided much of the suffering.
In the second half of the book, Frankl moves away from his personal experiences to delve further into his psychological/philosophical beliefs around logotherapy.
I’d never heard of logotherapy before. In truth, however, it’s conceptualised throughout much of the book. He simply houses it in a more formal framework.
All in all, it’s a truly wonderful book despite all of the painful experiences it describes. Here are some of the key points I took away:
Favourite Passages:
- “… Frankl approvingly quotes the words of Nietzsche, ‘He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.'” Preface
- “… forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.” Preface
- “Don’t aim at success – the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. 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 than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.” Preface
- “If a certain quantity of gas is pumped into an empty chamber, it will fill the chamber completely and evenly, no matter how big the chamber. Thus suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little. Therefore the ‘size’ of human suffering is absolutely relative.” Experiences in a Concentration Camp
- “No man should judge unless he asks himself in absolute honesty whether in a similar situation he might not have done the same.” Experiences in a Concentration Camp
- “When the impossibility of replacing a person is realised, it allows the responsibility which a man has for his existence and its continuance to appear in all its magnitude.” Experiences in a Concentration Camp
- “… a forced intention makes impossible what one forcibly wishes.” Logotherapy in a Nutshell
What Others Are Saying
Star Rating:
4.75/5
Man’s Search for Meaning offers one of the most unique insights into camp life you’re likely to find.
The first half in which Frankl offers glimpses of daily life is extraordinary and will no doubt make you count your lucky stars. It was so moving and and certainly gave me lots to ponder.
Although relevant, the second and third sections were slightly disappointing for me. They didn’t really offer anything new and went over a lot of the items discussed in Frankl’s preface.
Nonetheless, this is one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. I’d highly recommend!
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