Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60932 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780738203553
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Booklist
Frankl, psychologist and author of Man's Search for Meaning (1959), recounts his life in Austria from his birth in 1905 to the end of World War II. Even as an adolescent, Frankl was drawn to the workings of the human mind. He devoted himself to the study of psychology while a very young man and was mentored by pioneer psychologist Alfred Adler. Frankl, though, eventually rejected key tenets of Adler's teachings, and the two split forever. On his own, Frankl developed logotherapy, a combination of psychology and philosophy, to help people search for values and meaning in a world often devoid of both. But then Frankl, a Jew, came up against Hitler's Anschluss of his homeland and, later, the concentration camps and their attendant horrors, putting Frankl's logotherapy to the supreme test. An enlightening look at an important twentieth-century intellectual. Brian McCombie

Review
"An inspiring book by a man who obviously practices what he preaches." -- Publishers Weekly

"As simple, spontaneous, short and humble an autobiography as I have ever come across. Its affect is on the one hand awe-inspiring, and on the other chilling...it is humbling to review the literature of genius." -- Toronto Globe and Mail

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Customer Reviews

The man behind Logotherapy
"Recollections" is episodic, much like sharing a cup of coffee with a casual acquaintance and trying to divine their life story from those conversations. Dr. Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" is a landmark book for many seekers--including me--and I jumped at the chance to read this so-called autobiography of a giant in the field of diagnosing modern society's malaise. The book is a pleasant read, with Dr. Frankl's humor guiding the narrative. There's not much in the way of how Dr. Frankl coped with returning from concentration camps to find every member of his family--including his young wife--dead. The late Dr. Frankl's narrative is light and episodic, like afternoon conversations instead of Freudian analysis.

SNAPSHOTS OF A LIFE
Viktor Frankl has presented us with snap shots of the key events in his life. These recollections were never intended for publication but through the encouragement of his publisher this slim volume was made available for readers. Thus begins our journey in looking at the life of the founder of Logotherapy and the author of "Man's Search for Meaning."

Frankl's life is filled with interesting portraits. We learn of his mother's patrician background and the fact that she was descended from a family of prominent rabbis. His father was a struggling student and was director of the government's Ministry of Social Services.

We get to see this inquisitive young man as he is impacted by Freud, Hirschmann, Schilder and Adler as he begins to step int the field of psychoanalysis. Through his philosophical questionings and debates with these giants in the field we find Frankl developing his own methodology. March of 1938 became a turing point for the young man as his country is invaded by the Nazis and he is placed in a concentration camp. From that experience wee see a new personality arising who meets the psychological, emotional and spiritual tensions in his life with utmost grace.We see a man who has the opportunity to leave Austria and avoid the concentration camps but he elects to stay and care for his parents.

Unfortunately this memoir is not a full autobiography of Frankl. You receive sketches of his life and end up wanting more. Read in conjunction with Man's Search for Meaning, the reader can gain further insight on this great personality. I believe this book serves as a supplemental text for the author's Man Search for Meaning." Hopefully a full scale biographical work will come out on Frankl. Until then, this slender volume will whet your appetite to learn more about this great man.

Viktor Frankl
Viktor Frankl is my hero and a truly amazing man. This is the story of his life written just before he died. He is a man who survived 4 concentration camps and not only lived to tell about it---developed psychological theory that is seen as positive. He believes we control our destiny, and who we are as people. I agree with him. An easy and delightful read.