Books / Lived experience, memoir & fiction
Man’s Search for Meaning
Viktor Frankl’s account of his experience in Nazi concentration camps and his later presentation of logotherapy. This record identifies the 2006 Beacon Press edition.
Book details
Author of listed edition: Viktor E. Frankl
Edition: 2006 Beacon Press paperback
Publisher: Beacon Press
Edition year: 2006
First published: 1946
Original title: Ein Psycholog erlebt das Konzentrationslager
Language and origin: English (United States)
ISBN: 9780807014271
Form and genre: Memoir, Fiction & Lived Experience
Level: Introductory
Historical era: 1940–1959 · Object Relations, Existential & Client-Centred
Covers: Frankl’s account of imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps; His reflections on meaning and suffering; A later English edition presenting logotherapy
APA 7th reference: Frankl, V. E. (2006). Man’s search for meaning (I. Lasch, Trans., Part One). Beacon Press. (Original work published 1946)
What it is
Frankl’s account of his imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps was published in German in 1946 as Ein Psycholog erlebt das Konzentrationslager. This record identifies a later English edition published by Beacon Press in 2006.
What it covers
The publisher describes Frankl’s account of his experience of Nazi persecution and his reflections on meaning. The later English edition also presents his approach to psychotherapy, known as logotherapy.
Testimony and theory
Frankl’s memoir is personal testimony and a philosophical interpretation of suffering. It is not a controlled study of psychotherapy or an explanation of who survived the Holocaust. His ideas about meaning should not be treated as a requirement placed on people who experience suffering.
Limits of this entry
The publisher and library records and the Viktor Frankl Institute chronology were consulted. The complete book and the paired study were not reviewed for this entry. The book discusses Nazi persecution, imprisonment and death.
Paired academic and clinical scholarship
Paired work: The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Assessing the Presence of and Search for Meaning in Life (Michael F. Steger, Patricia Frazier, Shigehiro Oishi, and Matthew Kaler, 2006)
Reference: Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 80–93.
A study describing a questionnaire about presence of and search for meaning. Its complete text was not reviewed for this record.
Source-mapped claims and evidence notes
Claim 1: Frankl’s memoir first appeared in German in 1946 under the title Ein Psycholog erlebt das Konzentrationslager. (The Viktor Frankl Institute chronology was consulted; the 1946 edition was not read.) [Source 2: Viktor Frankl Institute. Viktor Frankl: Biography.]
Claim 2: The paperback identified in this record was published by Beacon Press in 2006. (The publisher and library catalogue identify the edition and ISBN; the complete book was not reviewed.) [Source 1: Beacon Press. Man’s Search for Meaning, 2006 paperback.]
Sources and inspection notes
Beacon Press. Man’s Search for Meaning, 2006 paperback.
Supports: Publisher description identifies the 2006 paperback and ISBN. The complete book was not reviewed.
Viktor Frankl Institute. Viktor Frankl: Biography.
Supports: Institute chronology identifies the 1946 German title and describes Frankl’s life and work. It is a source associated with his legacy.
Roseman University Library. Man’s Search for Meaning, catalogue record.
Supports: Library catalogue identifies the 2006 Beacon Press paperback, ISBN and Ilse Lasch as translator of part one.