The book begins with the author's explanation of his reasons for writing "Man's Search fro Meaning.

" Viktor then transitions into the beginning of his tragic story, his entrance into Auschwitz. He explains how as he was entering the death camp, he and his comrades held onto slight shards of hope that they would be rescued at the last possible moment. He relates this to a condemned man believing he will be saved before his execution. He refers to this feeling as the, "delusion of reprieve. He recalls how after getting off the train that had brought them to the death camp, the men and women were stripped from their belongings and then separated into two lines, one for men, and one for women. They approached a man who would either point left or right. One way was the direction to the crematories, the other to a cleansing station. During that day they bathed and stripped of everything they had, down to every single hair on their bodies. Looking back over his entrance into Auschwitz, Viktor E. Frankl states, "if someone now asked of us the truth of Dostoevsky's statements that flatly defines man as a being who can get used to anything, we would reply 'yes, a man can get used to anything, but do not ask us how. (36)'" He also states that, "The thought of suicide was entertained by everyone, if only for a short time. It was born of the hopelessness of the situations, constant danger of death looming over us daily and hourly, and the closeness of the deaths suffered by many of the others....The prisoner of Auschwitz, in the first phase of shock, did not fear death. Even the gas chambers lost their horrors for him after the first few daysafter all; they spared him the act of committing suicide. (36-37)" These quotes have great importance in depicting how traumatic the entrance into Auschwitz must have been. To lose your fear of death in a matter of days, who could imagine the horror? Frankl then goes on to talk about the prisoners in their second phase of imprisonment, after the initial shock had subsided. He explains how numbness overcomes a prisoner, and how he can watch a man be beaten to death and not even bat an eye. He recalls how while taking care of typhoid patients, he would watch people die horrible deaths hour after hour, but would experience no emotional upset at the scene. This apathy, he states, is a selfdefense mechanism which centers all of one's emotions on one task, to survive. The prisoners were fed small amounts of bread and watery soup. Without proper nourishment, the prisoner's bodies started to devour themselves, making it even harder for a prisoner to survive the camp. The prisoners were reduced to nothing but a number, and found next to nothing to release themselves from the emptiness. What little they could do, was keep their sense of humor, and point out the natural beauty of the world, such as a sunset.

Frankl shares many more of his experiences, and lastly explains how a prisoner reacts after liberation. He shares how that even after rescue, a prisoner had a hard time escaping the apathy that had encompassed his whole life. Frankl shares an example, "We came to meadows full of flowers. We saw and realized what they were, but had no feelings about them. (109)" This quote helps represent how hard the transition from a death camp into real life must have been. He goes on to explain how a prisoner had lost the ability to feel joy, and had to relearn the ability slowly. This book was written as a record of a man's experiences in a Nazi concentration camp during world war two, and the psychology of the prisoners with whom he shared months upon months of horror and destruction. He also introduces Logotherapy, which he invented while suffering inside the camp. The author himself admits that the opinions he shares in his book may very likely be biased, as he was a prisoner himself. The first words written by Viktor are, "This book does not claim to be an account of facts and events but of personal experiences, experiences which millions of prisoners have suffered time and again. (21)" He later states, "To attempt a methodical presentation of the subject is very difficult, as psychology requires a certain scientific detachment. But does a man who makes his observations while he himself is a prisoner possess the necessary detachment? Such detachment is granted to the outsider, but he is too far removed to make any statements of real value. Only the man inside knows. His judgments may not be objective; his evaluations may be out of proportion. This is inevitable. An attempt must be made to avoid any personal bias, and this is a real difficulty of a book of this kind. (24-25)" The author very likely may have some bias towards those who caused him so much pain, but through his writing, you can tell an attempt to push this bias aside has been made. This book is exceptionally important historically. It gives a vivid account of what a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp experienced and what mental state he was in during each phase of their imprisonment. He also goes into detail on the reasons why the survivors outlasted so much mental, emotional, and physical abuse, and why others did not. The book gives the reader an abundance of important information. The observations and theories do not only apply to those who suffered in a concentration camp, but for all who live trapped behind bars and walls. It helps the reader comprehend and empathize the position of these individuals. I personally enjoyed this book. This surprised even me because the story was more of a stringing together of facts, one after the other. The author's ability to use this writing style, yet still pull

emotionally at his readers is remarkable. His use of quotations and depiction of events paint a picture in the reader's mind of the atrocities of the holocaust. Many parts of his story, if told by any but a great author, would be extremely difficult to comprehend. Viktor E. Frankl does a great job of describing these events for the common person to understand. This is a great accomplishment because of the intensity of the events. Personally, I can't help but compare this story to Night by Ellie Wiesel. Both are very intense and emotional stories about revolting experiences in concentration camps and both are incredibly written. The biggest differences are that Night is written for the purpose of sharing a horrible experience, and was written with much more emotion and opinion. It was much more of a story than Man's Search for Meaning in which the main purpose for being written was to introduce the author's method of psychology. I appreciated both books at about the same level.