Why it's essential
Simon Vance brings his signature vocal gravitas to Viktor E. Frankl's harrowing yet emotionally resonant memoir.
Featured in The Audible Essentials Top 100.
What is Man's Search for Meaning about?
Framed around his experiences living under Nazi occupation, Viktor E. Frankl delivers a philosophical treatise on life and one's search for purpose within it. While stuck in Terezin Ghetto and later Auschwitz, Frankl took stock of both his feelings and of the behavior he observed to develop "logotherapy," a scientific approach to help people find meaning within their lives.
Editor's review
Seth Hartman is an Audible editor and a certified podcasting fanatic. He lives for historical fiction, music and film analysis podcasts, and well-placed Oxford commas.
Bringing his psychological expertise and penchant for philosophical analysis to the fore, Viktor E. Frankl manages to paint a harrowing yet oddly relatable picture of life in a Nazi concentration camp. Like many works of philosophy, Man's Search for Meaning deals with the existential need to find purpose in one's life. This sort of philosophical musing has been present as long as the written word itself, but Frankl takes this idea to its logical extreme by relating this common human need to one of the most horrible experiences possible.
Maybe it is due to the fact that I am Jewish, or perhaps due to my circumstances growing up around a large number of trained psychologists, but the ideas presented in this book resonate in an extremely powerful way for me. I was introduced to Frankl in a college philosophy course, but it wasn't until later in life that I picked up the book and read it cover to cover, and then went back and listened to the audiobook, narrated by Simon Vance. Having heard countless stories from Holocaust survivors throughout my life, I found that most of them repeated one key phrase about how they made it through the experience: "Find a purpose." This seems like a crazy thing to say while surrounded by so much death and suffering, but the idea is backed up strongly by Frankl's theories.
Throughout this book, Frankl is searching for something he calls a "will to meaning." In short, this concept sums up one's purpose to live and the drive to achieve that purpose. Frankl had been studying this very concept (which he coined as "logotherapy") in his college in Vienna before he was abducted. Frankl utilizes words from fellow philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche to illustrate this point—"He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how." One of the most powerful sections of this piece sees Frankl describing a fellow prisoner who thought he had a premonition about being freed by a certain date. This man was resilient and optimistic through his suffering until the date in question passed, after which he almost immediately died. After losing hope, the man's body followed suit.
While this book is full of bleak stories like the above, I find Frankl's words to be not only realistic and logical, but also optimistic. His chosen lane of "logotherapy" is a hopeful one, despite his deeply traumatic experiences. The fact that I can apply my own struggles to his life's work affirms my own search for purpose.
Man's Search for Meaning is, above all else, a philosophical treatise. Frankl's musings on the meaning of life are made even more powerful given the context in which he developed these feelings. Despite those brutal conditions, Frankl delivers a philosophical thesis that anyone can relate to. With this in mind, this title is best for people who might be asking themselves some of life's biggest questions. Themes like finding what Frankl calls the "will to meaning," or understanding what motivates an individual to press forward, are front and center throughout. Do not expect to listen to this book without experiencing some degree of internal reflection.
Did you know?
The original German title for Man's Search for Meaning is "A Psychologist Experiences the Concentration Camp."
Frankl dictated all of his thoughts that ended up in this work to a group of his assistants over nine days.
Frankl is widely credited with spearheading the "third school" of Viennese psychotherapy, building on the research of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler.
What listeners said
"My mentor (a man from the Baby Boomer generation) recommended this book to me by saying, 'it was the single most influential book I ever read.' With a endorsement like that, I had no choice but to read it. I am happy to say, he did not oversell this book." -Will, Audible listener
"There are a handful of books that should truly be required and desired reading for everyone across the world. This is one of them. It is simultaneously repulsive and compelling, disheartening and hopeful." -Troy, Audible listener
"It's difficult to describe the darkest moments of your life. It's even harder to find meaning in them. Frankl shows courage and great resilience by having created this work of art, which will help others find purpose in their struggles as well." -Samantha, Audible listener
"Viktor Frankl's book has two main parts: a) very moving description of his experiences in different concentration camps and how he dealt with suffering and pain; b) an introduction of his school of psychotherapy ("logotherapy") partly derived from these experiences. Really inspiring, even if today you are not suffering. Great help to remember in difficult times." -Ulrich, Audible listener
Listen if you loved
Quotes from Man's Search for Meaning
"The truth—that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire …The salvation of man is through love and in love."
"Don’t aim at success—the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it."
"The meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment."
"Man’s search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life and not a ‘secondary rationalization’ of instinctual drives. This meaning is unique and specific in that it must and can be fulfilled by him alone; only then does it achieve a significance which will satisfy his own will to meaning."
"In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice."
About the author
Viktor E. Frankl was professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of Vienna Medical School until his death in 1997. He was the founder of what has come to be called the Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy (after Freud's psychoanalysis and Adler's individual psychology)—the school of logotherapy. Born in 1905, Dr. Frankl received the degrees of Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Vienna. During World War II, he spent three years at Auschwitz, Dachau and other concentration camps. Dr. Frankl first published in 1924 in the International Journal of Psychoanalysis and has since published 26 books, which have been translated into 19 languages, including Japanese and Chinese. He was a visiting professor at Harvard, Duquesne, and Southern Methodist Universities. Honorary Degrees have been conferred upon him by Loyola University in Chicago, Edgecliff College, Rockford College, and Mount Mary College, as well as by universities in Brazil and Venezuela. He was a guest lecturer at universities throughout the world and made 51 lecture tours throughout the United States alone. He was president of the Austrian Medical Society of Psychotherapy.
About the performer
Simon Vance is an audiobook narrator and actor who performs contemporary literary works as well as classics, children's books, and nonfiction. He has won 16 Audie Awards since 2002. Specializing in single-voice narration, he has earned AudioFile magazine's Earphones Award for more than 60 performances since 1998 and was named the American Library Association's Booklist Magazine Voice of Choice in 2008. He has also narrated audiobooks under the names of Richard Matthews and Robert Whitfield.
