5 comments about Lost in Translation: A Life in a New Language.

1. As a senior Literature major, there are many things I am required to read that make my college experience rather painful. This book, however, was not only relevant to the class I was taking but was also the most intriguing book I have read in years, maybe ever. Eva Hoffman's memoir is beautifully written and constructed, and is a must-read for anyone who appreciates great literature.



2. I loved this book when it came out and I love it still many rereadings later. This portrait of the Wandering Jew as a young girl begins with Hoffman's childhood in Cracow, Poland just after the second world war; moves to Vancouver, British Columbia when she is thirteen; continues on to Texas and Massachusetts for her university years; and ends in New York, where she becomes a writer and an editor at the New York Times Book Review. It encompasses many themes: the defining power of language; the cost of changing cultures, the construction of personal identity, and the consequences, for many Jews, of the Nazi and Communist regimes. Hoffman was born in the summer of 1945. Like many Jews in post-war, Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe, the Hoffmans observed Passover and had home-baked challah, on shabbat but Eva was culturally Polish, reading Sienkiewicz's nationalistic novels, playing Chopin etudes, attending church with her friends, receiving gifts on St. Nicholas's Day. After emigration, she adapts to North American culture, first Canadian, then Texan, then New York. This is a memoir squarely in the Jewish immigrant tradition but one in which the immigrant is a graduate student at Harvard, and relates her situation not only to Mary Antin but to contexts laid out by Sartre and Nabokov, Jung and Freud. Lost in Translation contains stories and essays, phrases to ruminate on, ideas to consider. It is a demanding read that challenges its reader to consider her own autobiography, her own childhood, her own assumptions. Having compiled an international bibliography of Jewish women's non-fiction books with poet Irena Klepfisz (available on my website) , I can say this is one of my favorites.



3. I started reading this wonderful book 6 months before I left Brazil towards Israel. After finishing the first Part (Paradise) I just could not keep on reading, and I abandoned the book for a while. After I landed in Israel I re-took the book and was delighted again with the realness of it. A thought occurred to me that the reading was so descriptive of the immigration sentiment that I just could not understand it before immigrating myself.
   
   The book helped me to understand and to organize the infinite sensations that come with the leaving/arriving to another country. How the language affects the way we think and act, how sadness and happiness are mingled into one strange feeling, how we cope and forget without noticing, and how we urge to succeed and prove that we can be part of the new country.
   
   In addition, the book also brought to me new feelings and curiosities about my grandparents, whom also escaped from Poland and Russia in the late 40's. Hoffman describes so well how the old traditions and languages influenced the new live of those who left their country because of prejudice and persecution!
   
   One passage that I am specially fond of: "No, I'm no patriot, nor was I ever allowed to be. And yet, the country of my childhood lives within me with a primacy that is a form of love. (...) All it has given me is the world, but that is enough. It has fed me language, perceptions, sounds, the human kind. It has given me the colors and the furrows of reality, my first loves. The absoluteness of those loves can never be recaptured: no geometry of the landscape, no haze in the air, will live in us as intensely as the landscapes that we saw as the first, and to which we gave ourselves wholly, without reservations." It reminds me of Wordsworth when he writes about Tintern Abbey.
   
   A wonderful life-changing book.



4. Hoffman's description of Poland in the Communist years following World War II is riveting, and so is her narrative of life in the U.S. following her arrival here at age 13. But what impresses me most about this book is its assured writing style, and the author's ability to skip back and forth from one decade and year to another without boring or losing the reader. Hoffman is an unusually gifted writer. I am using her text as a teaching tool for a would-be memoir/autobiographer. Thank heaven her parents survived the Holocaust and brought her to us.



5. A wonderful book on moving from one culture to another and one language to another--Polish to English. Anyone who has had this experience will immediately identify with the author. Eva Hoffman writes beautifully about every nuance of her family's move as a young teenager from Communist Poland to Canada. Cultures that are superficially similar turn out to be very different and the effect on family life is staggering.

5 comments about Alicia.

1. I read a lot of Holocaust-related stories in middle school. As morbid as it sounds, they were so interesting, and so heartbreaking to read. There are quite a few more still sitting in my closet that I could review, but this was my favorite, and probably the one that got me into the topic. A really great story, particularly because it's a true one.



2. Raised from the age of five in Buczacz, which was roughly a third Jewish at that time, Alicia was sheltered relatively well from the anti-Semitism that plagued her town, as well as the rest of Europe. She had many friends, both Jewish and Christian.
   After the Hitler-Stalin Pact of 1939, whereby the two genocidal dictators divided Poland between them, Buczacz fell into the Soviet zone. The Soviets began a forced Sovietization drive, and deported thousands of people to slave labour, or their deaths, who they saw as 'enemies of the Soviet Union'.Alicia recalls being offended and hurt, on behalf of her Christian friends, for whose religion she had deep respect, when the Madonna and Child were removed from their customary spot in the classroom and replaced by scowling portraits of Lenin and Stalin.
   Alicia's second-oldest brother Moshe was shot by the Soviets after returning to Poland, from the harsh conditions in Russia, where he had gone for education.
   In June 1941, the Germans broke their pact with the Soviets and swept through eastern Poland on their way to Russia - Operation Barbarossa had begun. The Germans, however, had an even worse plan than the Soviets had had for Europe's Jews: it was known as Endlosung (aka The Final Solution).
   
   Alicia's father was shot, alongside 600 other Jewish community leaders, shortly after the Nazi invasion.
   Alicia, and her mother and brothers were forced to leave their beautiful home, and to settle in the ghetto.
   They lived under harsh laws whereby Jews were forced to wear armbands with stars of David.
   Jews who tried to leave the ghetto or to enter the synagogue would be executed.
   Alicia's brother Bunion was then executed by the Nazis.
   
   While visiting a Jewish family in the town, 12 year old Alicia was arrested by the Nazis along with thousands of other Jews, but escaped from the train to the death camps, together with a band of other young people.
   After Alicia's brother Zachary was shot by the Nazis She swore on his grave that if she survived she would speak for her silenced family.
   This book is a powerful and unforgettable fulfilment of that oath.
   It keeps us engaged and emotionally involved on every page, as we read of her struggle to survive, her irrepressible spirit, her many brushes with death. She never gave up her will to survive nor her humanity for fellow victims of the Nazis, many of whom she helped to rescue, many of whom died before her eyes.
   She witnessed such horrors as babies being shot in their cribs by the Nazis.
   While many of the Polish and Ukrainian neighbours helped the Nazis and joined in the killings, there were always those few that helped to keep their Jewish fellow humans alive, including a Polish family on whose farm Alicia worked.
   After the war, Alicia's struggle was not over.
   She was imprisoned by the Soviets and took part in the secret operation to smuggle Jews to the Land of Israel, across Europe, at a time when the British were keeping the Holocaust survivors out, often with brutal and violent methods reminiscent of the Nazis themselves.
   Alicia was on the ship Theodor Herzl, carrying young Holocaust survivors to Israel, in 1946, when it was rammed by British frigates, after which British soldiers then boarded the ship and attacked the survivors, beating to death six young Jews and allowing others to drown while trying to escape.
   This courageous girl, had struggled as part of the Jewish nation against three ruthless empires.



3. This eye witness account of the holocaust in Poland is so horrific it would be too depressing to read, if it weren't for the author's lucid, straight forward prose. Alicia Jurman was 13 years old when she fought for survival against literally impossible odds in southeastern Poland and witnessed the destruction of her entire family, friends and neighbors. Her survival was accomplished through truly incredible pluck, strength of character, resourcefulness, and unbelievable good luck.
   We already know (or should know) all about the horrors of the holocaust: the depth of depravity to which the human soul can sink; and we know that to forget this worst of all possible nightmares is to face another genocide in our lifetime (we already have in Darfur, Rwanda, Bosnia, and elsewhere).
   What distinguishes "Alicia: My Story" despite the unspeakable horror is this horror as viewed through the eyes of a girl who simply refuses to give in and give up. She is an amazingly strong girl who used everything she had to survive. And she tells the story in a matter of fact way that propels the narrative forward and keeps the reader turning the pages to find out what happens next.
   If one has never been exposed to what went on during World War Two, this excellent book is the perfect place to start.



4. An avid reader of Holocaust memoirs, I found "Alicia" an unforgettable story of survival.
   
   Only a child at the onset of World War II in her native Poland, Alicia Jurman soon lost both her parents and all four brothers -- murdered, in different ways, for one reason, being Jewish. It was only through a strange destiny that young Alicia kept surviving herself -- once being pushed through a gap in a train window, heading for a concentration camp; another time, falling unconscious and being presumed dead by the Nazis, only to be rescued by an astute and caring Jewish gravedigger.
   
   Yet even when a person is at her lowest, she can always find others even worse off. It would have been easy for Alicia to say she had nothing left to give; yet even during the most destitute and desperate of times, she shared food and supplies with other Holocaust survivors.
   
   It was also this loving attitude that made Alicia take action after the war, when she noticed a number of starving orphaned children roaming city streets. Only 15 and an orphan herself, Alicia took it upon herself to establish a Jewish "orphanage," moving some 24 youths aged 10 to 15 into a vacated apartment and securing financial help to get their new lives underway.
   
   Still a teenager, Alicia eventually sought refuge in Israel. But, as always, problems arose...
   
   Alicia Jurman is a modern-day hero, guaranteed to inspire readers for generations to come.



5. I just finished another very painful but interesting and shocking memoirs in "Thanks to my Mother" by Shoshana Rabinovici and started this book. It's absolutely shocking and heroic struggle to do everything possible to survive day-by-day and minute-by-minute the Systematic Nazi Plan to annihilate the Jewish People.
   Highly highly recommend to every one who is interested in Holocaust and to everybody to read and to learn what was really WWII about.

5 comments about Rena's Promise.

1. In my personal opinion, I don't like the Holocaust. When I was assigned to read this book, I just wanted to die. When I was reading it, everything seemed so repetitive. At 4 a.m., Raus. Raus. Then you stand in line to get counted, afterwards you receive your food, and back in line to go work. I'm pretty sure that this is what was really going on at the time and that made me really like the way the story was written. One could really get engaged in the story because of this. The way the author wrote made the readers get into the lives of the workers.
   At the beginning of the story, the reader is reading about an interview that is taking place with a reporter and a holocaust survivor, which is a dead giveaway that the prisoner was going to survive every tragic event that would occur. There can be no surprises because we already know that the main character will always live to tell the tale. There are also pictures of the main character and her sister side by side at a very old age in the middle of the book. By the time the readers get to this point of the novel, the main character's sister seems as though she will get killed at any moment and it is at a very climactic point of the story, but the pictures ruin it all.
   There are also some events in the story that seems a little suspicious and unbelievable. Throughout the entire novel, there is a scarce amount of food, but Rena, the main character, is always giving her food away or sharing it with everyone. Rena always remained looking fit and healthy, even though there was a lack of food intake.
   Being as unbiased as I can be, the book does have its good points. If you are a holocaust fan, you would thoroughly enjoy this story because you really feel like a prisoner. The repetition and the boredom they felt, you will feel. Reading how gruesome the murders took place, your stomach will cringe. The sadness they were going through, you will empathize.
   Personally I didn't like the book, but this was already known because I don't like the holocaust in general, but I still would recommend this novel to anyone. This book was very educational with footnotes of facts that acted like a timeline as the story went on. It is an easy read and very easy to become captivated. If you are a Holocaust enthusiast, I highly recommend this for your collection. If you are like me and don't care for the Holocaust, then this is a book you can do without.



2. I had to pick holocaust memoir book for a college report and while all my classmates did memoirs of men I wanted something different. I found this book at my local bookstore & wasnt too sure about it but decided to try it anyway. I fell in love with it. Her discribtions make me feel like I'm with her in her horror. I felt her emotions as I read the book. I would spend many nights up late reading wanting to know what was going to happen next.



3. I came away from Rena's Promise with a new found respect for people who have experienced racial discrimination. Rena Korneich Gelissen and Heather Dune Macadam did an excellent job of reconstructing Rena's life prior to the Holocaust and what happened as the Allied Powers were beginning to win. Although I never read a novel about any historical issue, Rena's Promise seemed to portray an acquire example of many historical events within that time period. Even though I came away from the novel very pleased, it did possess some limitations. In my opinion the pictures within the book should be at the end of the novel because it takes away from the suspense of surviving her terrible ordeal. If this was put into thought, then the reader would have enjoyed her escape or her survival even more. I also enjoyed the author's use of diction because the reader is able to learn Polish or German words while they are reading, although they may have been hard to pronounce. Nevertheless this is an excellent book about a courageous young lady who went through some horrendous events during the Holocaust, although it was a little far fetch.



4. This is an incredible story of sisters in a concentration camp. I've done a great deal of research into the Holocaust, but never have I come across a book quite like this one. It literally changed my life. I found myself thinking about it for days afterwards, little things reminding me of Rena's story--eating a potato, walking outside with a coat on, seeing a young child playing. I found a distinct connection with Rena, even asking myself if I could do what she did.
   Rena is an astonishing woman who is responsible for her sister surviving Auschwitz. The critic got it wrong when s/he said that Rena's promise was made to her mother to protect the baby; Rena's promise is to her sister, that if her sister is to die in that terrible place, she will not die alone. Rena went through a terrible ordeal to keep them both alive, and to attempt to recount it here would be a great injustice to Rena's story and spirit.
   Read the book. It will change your life.



5. I just started reading this book yesterday, and I must say I am completely intrigued! I do like this type of memoir reading and I love to read about the atroscities of the holocaust. This book is a very easy read and it really captivates you; I haven't wanted to put it down yet!!

5 comments about Etty Hillesum: An Interrupted Life the Diaries, 1941-1943 and Letters from Westerbork.

1. In nearly all of our nation's middle and high schools the Diary of Anne Frank is required reading. This present volume ought to be a required follow-up reading for the older student.
   
   This Owl Books publication includes excellent photographs and commentary to bring alive holistically the full presentation of this intelligent and searching young woman's life and vision, whose eight well-preserved copy books reveal to us her soul, supplemented by personal, surprisingly joyful and hopeful and positive do-not-lose-heart letters from a way station on the road to Auschwitz. Together this corpus of writing presents bright light in the deepest darkness and locus of despair. One cannot read these living words on the way to certain death without weeping, and reflecting, at the unreasonable cruelty and inexorable deadly fruit of any total war. One cannot read this without a cry for the end of all war.
   
   Please read this book in a prayerful way. Consider the promising and peaceful lives which were lost, whose voice rings out truly here in this thick volume of her writings, and resolve to work for peace, that we may never study war, no more. Let us work for peace, and pray with the prophet that our swords may soon be beat into plowshares, that all may live in peace to their fullest promise.
   
   This book brings to us the reality of the horror of hateful war, through Etty's human and hopeful and joyous and beautiful voice, ever encouraging those in the deepest despair until she herself is also placed on the road to Auschwitz, a road from which so very few ever returned.



2. This is one of the most profound documents ever written. Etty Hillesum was truly a person who had reached transforming union and had the ability to be able to share her experience through journaling and letters. She was unwaivering in her desire to see the beauty and meaning of life in one of the most difficult situations ever experienced on this planet. There are no words to express how deeply this work has influenced my life, except to say that I go back to her writing over and over again. She is a bright light for anyone seeking spiritual growth.



3. Etty Hillessum's diaries and her letters from Westerbork serve as an outstanding testament to the human spirit and the ability to find the sacred in the most horrific of situations. Although she was not a saint in the sense that Teresa of Avila or Juan de la Cruz were saints, she could properly be considered a mystic and a good example of a modern who had 'enlightened' insights. I find her diaries at once humane and modern in the sense of a liberated 'bohemian' who explored her sexuality and her psyche. As her diaries progress, her inner life (and oneness with God) deepens as the horrors of the realities of being Jewish in Europe during the Second World War becomes more apparent. I highly recommend this book! It will change your life!



4. This book would be one of the five. Its not about the Holocaust, not really. It is about one of the most soulful women who we all could learn so much from about how to approach our days. I cherish this book with all my heart. It came to me in a very weird way however! My parents were viisting me in Seattle when I lived there and while browsing in Elliott Bay Books, my mom handed me this book and said, "When I die I want this book buried with me!" I know, thats kind of a weird sell but she bought me my own copy (along with a separate one for her future plans) and I read it in one evening. I couldn't put it down. While she lived just a short distance from Anne Frank and was writing her journals at the same time, they are equally moving but worlds apart. Etty was in her late twenties while she wrote and her outlook on life is simply among the most remarkable I have ever encountered. I don't think I need to be buried with it but that doesn't mean I don't recommend it extremely highly for both men and women. Its a privilege to be able to recommend it, to know that even while her life was so tragically cut short at Auschwitz, that her journals survived and that maybe just one person more will come to her journals as a result of this review. You know what? I'd like to be buried with this book too. Also include a cupcake.



5. This book is an intelligent conversion story. The author, Etty Hillesum, begins writing at a time when her life was repugnant; and yet, she is obviously very intelligent and so reading what she wrote during that period is not a waste of time.
   
   Towards the middle of the book, Etty begins to change, and by the end, she is an admirable person - not just because she is intelligent, but also because she is good. It seems that her will changed, which is the definition of conversion.
   
   I would compare this book favorably with "Surprised by Joy", which is the autobiography of C.S. Lewis. "Surprised by Joy" is a great book for Christians. "Etty Hillesum" is a great book for anyone.
   
   
   Shawn T. Miller

5 comments about German Boy: A Child in War.

1. This harrowing memoir should be required reading for all children. Perhaps, as adults, they will think hard and deeply before embarking on war. The description of life at the end of WWII and postwar Germany are harrowing. The reader cannot help but wonder how he or she would or could cope in the same situation.
   
   I found the comparison among the American, British and Russian zones in postwar Germany to be fascinating. I hope that the friendliness and genorosity which have historically characterized Americans have not been lost in our recent imperialist adventurism and immoral acts.



2. The author, who was 10 years old and living in eastern Germany when WWII came to an end, has an amazing memory for telling details and an irresistibly engaging personality. His memoir of that dreadful time is framed as a tribute to his mother, who certainly deserves it, and an unforgettable lesson in history as it is really lived. Once you start reading this book, you will be unable to put it down and you will never forget it.



3. Wonderful and descriptive first hand account of living through WWII in Germany and the life there afterwards.



4. This is a great book. I gave the book to a few German friends who lived in Germany during the war. They could identify with the author's experiences.
   
   The author became a U.S citizen and fought in Vietnam. I would have liked to read about the author's experience in this country, and his experience, as a pilot in our Air Force.
   
   A well written book and interesting too.



5. I have always been interested in WWII history and this book is excellent as it deals with the consequences of war. Wolfgang was blessed with an incredible memory and this book tells the story of the time from 1945 to 1950 in Germany and how things were. I will not recap the story since others have done it so well, but this is in the top 10 of the hundreds of books I have read.

1 comments about Kasztner's Train: The True Story of an Unknown Hero of the Holocaust.

1. An expertly researched, captivatingly written and long overdue book about the courage, ingenuity, successes and ultimate sad persecution of a great but much maligned hero. Brava Anna Porter!

2 comments about The Night Trilogy: Night, Dawn, Day.

1. Bought this book as a gift for a friend who is a history teacher. She gave me a 3 hour personal tour through the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC and commented that she had not read this book.



2. This is a must read - for everyone! A real, raw and riviting account of Ellie Wiesel's personal experience during the Holocaust. Starting when no one believed the pending danger of war... to the formation of ghettos and finally life in a concentration camp. His Nobel Peace Price Acceptance Speech at the end of the book is an important bonus! We must NEVER FORGET... Ellie's account will help.

5 comments about Night.

1. This is the true story of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. A religious Jew, Wiesel was a young boy during the German invasion. He and his family were taken captive by the Nazis and put into the concentration camps where he witnessed atrocities that destroyed his family and shattered his faith.
   
   Told simply and succintly, this first person account is haunting. Wiesel speaks with a numb detachment, sensationalizing nothing. He asks for no pity. He simply describes what he saw.
   
   It is only one person's point-of-view of perhaps the most important event in modern history, but his testimony feels as big as the Holocaust itself. That this is one of millions of stories that could be told is shocking again, even if you've seen movies or read other books on the topic. You come away from this book with a better understanding of what happened, and many unanswerable questions as to why it happened.
   
   As other reviewers have suggested, this book should be required reading for all high school students.



2. Night by Elie Wiesel is an excellent first hand account into the atrocities the Jew endured at the German prisoner and slave labor camps of World War II. This volume gives students additional connections into understanding the situations. Excellent version!!!



3. From the moment we had began on this book in our classes it was truly an eye opener. Words cannot describe the misery that was felt in each and every word this book had within. The book itself had casted night over all of us, especially me as we listened intently on what could be known as the most heart striking tale. From the start of the camp to the death marchings in the snow, the story gives a full eye account of the horror that was seen in the Nazi war. No story ever has been written so amazingly nor dramaticly as this. Yes, it touched me darkly and it burned deeply but this story, this story is something everyone should read because no one should forget what happened so long ago. You cant go your whole life without reading this book, its something that you should not miss.
   
   I give it a rating of five stars and I hope you, the reader, can also find that too.



4. As an English teacher, I have my ninth graders read this memoir every year. And every year, I am moved to tears. Not only does Mr. Wiesel tell of his devastating experience of dehumanization in the Holocaust, but he tells it with such eloquence and mastery of the English language, that one would wonder if he was always a writer. This is his first book and it reads like a story written by some of the greatest writers of the literary canon. Be forewarned that his story will change your perspective on life and will most likely you move you to tears as well. If it doesn't, than as my Pastor would say, "your wood is wet."
   
   You may be asking yourself, "why would I want to read something that will just get me upset?" My answer to that is that if we don't get upset, how can we facilitate change? Ignorance leads to bliss? No way--it leads to destruction. Furthermore, antisemitism hasn't gone away. And in the midst of the violence and hatred exploding in the middle east 63 years after Hitler was defeated, there are millions of people who once again want to annihilate the Jews and are devising plans to do just that. So this memoir must be read. Mr. Wiesels' story must be heard.



5. I received this item in a timely matter in great condition! Would do business with again!

5 comments about All But My Life.

1. Despite the horrors around her, and fellow prisoners dying and becoming mentally unbalanced every day, young Gerda Weissman managed to survive several Nazi camps from the late 1930s through the grisly end of World War II.
   
   Imagine being a teenager, wrenched away from your beloved parents, older brother and home -- and never seeing any of them ever again. It would be enough to make anyone unstable, not to mention bitter. Yet somehow, Gerda emerges from her horrifying ordeal stronger than she began. As her body heals in a hospital run by the Allies during the spring of 1945, Gerda begins a relationship with Kurt Klein -- a young soldier who urges her to tell her story.
   
   Now an elderly woman living in Arizona, Gerda Weissman Klein is able to see just how far she's come from the young Jewish girl living a priviledged life in Poland. Yet at the same time, her writing style allows readers to see clearly just how that same persona has managed to live such a rich, eventful life to the fullest all of these years.
   
   I've read many Holocaust memoirs, though I must say that Gerda's story is beautifully and distinctly told.



2. I read this book a long time ago and just got done listening to the book on tape for the second time. It is the most powerful representation of the Holocaust I have found. Please read this book if you want to learn about the Holocaust from a gifted author and survivor.



3. This book was gripping and I could not put it down until I finished it. It's so hard to believe the hardships so many endured for being Jewish. A must read. Beautifully written with rich detail.



4. I have read many of the holocaust books out there but this is the one I pass on to friends to read. Especially moving is the liberation of the prisoners at the end of the book. I wish all schools made this mandatory reading. What a way to learn history! This author is quite an incredible woman.



5. This is one of the first Holocaust survival stories that I read. It is by far one that has stayed with me in the most detail.
   
   I'm not going to give the story away I'm just going to say you will cry and rejoyce in this story. It will touch you to core of your very being.
   
   I must read for EVERYONE!

5 comments about Man's Search for Meaning.

1. If you've read the book - which I suggest you read the book so you can really digest its meaning - the audio provides a great avenue to hear it again. I spend 2 hours in the car everyday and having the audio text of Frankl's work is a nice distraction from the 'speed' of the day. I would add though, if you haven't read the text, listen to it. There is much meaning to draw from it and apply to your own life. Very insightful generally speaking, the audio doesn't detract. I'm a book guy to begin with and that is why I would suggest the book before the audio. Either way, one of the most influential works I've ever read.



2. Frankl wrote a brilliant book. The way of his writing is very clear and to the point. There are a lot of psychology terms, but not so many that it makes the book confusing. Frankl looks at the story from an unattached view, and thus he is able to give good, unbiased theories about why things happened. This book made many of the reasons of what happened during the holocaust clearer. It is an enjoyable and informative read.



3. "Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible." ~ Viktor Frankl from "Man's Search for Meaning"
   
   Viktor Frankl. He's unquestionably one of my heroes and this book is a must read (or re-read as the case may be). If you don't have it yet, it's time to get it. It's impossible to be a serious student of life and not soak up as much Frankl as you can.
   
   The man survived the horrors of Nazi concentration camps and, from that pain, brought the world his "Logotherapy"--a philosophy based on the fundamental precept that we have ultimate responsibility for choosing our responses to any given challenge AND equally powerful responsibility to determine how we will give ourselves to the world and create a truly meaningful life.



4. This book is incredibly inspiring, both from a theoretical and practical perspective. I highly recommend it for anyone who is in an "existential vacuum" as Frankl says, or for anyone who just wants to get more ideas about what the "meaning of life" might be.
   
   The book is not only very well laid out and well written, but the content is rich. I highly recommend perusing it with a pen at hand to mark a response to a lot of his statements, then re-reading your own comments with his text... I think you'll learn a lot about yourself that way.



5. I bought this book because I was searching for yet another book on workplace bullying and another book came up in my search based on Frankl's book. I read the customer reviews on that book and one reviewer said something to the effect of, "If you want to read a book based on Viktor Frankl's opinion of how to get along at a bad work environment (like a Nazi death camp), why don't you just read Frankl's book?" So, that's where I started. I read it. Twice. Then I got out my computer and typed in passages that had meaning to me so I could re-read them during difficult times. I compressed the entire book down to about 10 pages, single spaced. I must admit that I consider myself a negative, often depressed sort of person, mostly because my work situation is so demoralizing. I was amazed by Frankl's coping mechanisms on how to get along in a difficult situation; every day meant multiple incidents of having to choose the correct path to avoid death or worse, making the choice to give up on your own life (suicide). He went through 5 years of that and lived to tell about it. It is a must read for everyone, particularly when you are having the hardest time of your life. I could tell that if I had read it as a college student, it wouldn't have the same meaning as now, when I am 50 and have had many ups and downs. I see everything at such a deeper level and appreciated this book so much more than I would have if I were younger. Briefly, the lessons in the book written 50 years ago still apply today. Here they are: Let luck be your guide. It's not what you know, it's who you know. Network with the equivalent of a one-step-up lateral (not your own) middle manager and they will help you when they can. Schmooze. Be kind to others. Don't complain, it doesn't help. You can't fix, deal with or appeal to a sadist, so don't try. Avoid sadists at all costs. Keep your mouth shut unless asked for your opinion and then be short and to the point. Praise, even when praise isn't deserved. Keep criticisms to yourself. Be inconspicuous. Work hard for the sake of doing a good job. Fantasize for escape. Everything can be taken away from you except for your past, so relish in it. When something good happens to you, write it down (keep a gratitude journal). Don't do anything that compromises your own values so you won't have regrets. Be careful who you abuse today because tomorrow they may be your master. You are not your job, your title or your position. You are a unique person loved by others. The only thing in life that really matters is the people you love and the people who love and need you. Love shared is eternal. Treat everyone with respect. The meaning of life is not what life can do for you, but what life expects of you; how you make the world a better place with your presence. The purpose of life is not happiness. The purpose of life is discovering what you can contribute to it. Save a slice of bread (or whatever is the only material thing that matters to you when there is nothing left) for later when you are really depressed and it's the only thing left that can get you through that difficult moment. (For me it's chocolate and a dark beer at the same time.) Apathy is the signaling of the beginning of the end of one's life. Everyone that you respect and look up to has human failings. Even tough guys cry. Suffering without purpose is meaningless. The larger the suffering, the bigger the lesson. There's lots more in the book for you to discover and it's an easy read.