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Man's Search for Meaning

Author: Viktor E. Frankl Foreword by: Harold S. Kushner Afterword by: William J. Winslade

Frankl’s timeless memoir and meditation on finding meaning in the midst of suffering

With a new Foreword by Harold S. Kushner

and a new Biographical Afterword by William J. Winslade

Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl’s memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl’s theory—known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos (“meaning“)—holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.

At the time of Frankl’s death in 1997, Man’s Search for Meaning had sold more than 10 million copies in twenty-four languages. A 1991 reader survey for the Library of Congress that asked readers to name a “book that made a difference in your life” found Man’s Search for Meaning among the ten most influential books in America.

Beacon Press, the original English-language publisher of Man’s Search for Meaning, is issuing this new paperback edition with a new Foreword, biographical Afterword, jacket, price, and classroom materials to reach new generations of readers.

“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)

“An enduring work of survival literature.” —New York Times

“An accessible edition of the enduring classic. The spiritual account of the Holocaust and the description of logotherapy meets generations’ need for hope.” —Donna O. Dziedzic (PLA) AAUP Best of the Best Program

Reviews

Review: O, the Oprah Magazine - November 1, 2008

"[O]ne of the most significant books of the 20th century.”

Man's Search for Meaning is on Powell's list of "25 Books to Read Before You Die."
The Amazon editorial team called Man's Search for Meaning a "life-changing book" and included it in a list of 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime, 2/4/14
HuffPost Religion excerpted one of the selected letters from Man's Search for Meaning, 10/28/14

View the Teacher's Guide