This is considered one of the most authoritative descriptions of life on the inside of a Nazi concentration camp.
Through the first half of the book, Dr. Frankl dispassionately and objectively makes observations on the worst excesses of cruelty and brutality that can be inflicted by one human on another. The recollections are more in the form of anecdotes rather than a chronological sequence of events.
Later in the book, Dr. Frankl presents his arguments on the nature of human spirit, and how one can survive even in the most trying of circumstances. Suffering cannot be avoided, but man can choose how to cope with suffering, find meaning in it, and hold on to that for survival.
In the second half of the book, he describes a new form of psychotherapy based on the “search for meaning”, called “Logotherapy”. He rejects Freudian and Nietzschean doctrines in favour of logotherapy, claiming that the quest to find meaning is higher motivator than the quest for power or pleasure.
It devolves into a semi-scientific tome describing his experiments with logotherapy, and the results he saw in various circumstances. What is remarkable is that the very science of logotherapy was the result of Frankl’s own search for meaning during his time in the death camps.
It is a short volume, but carries immense weight, and is deeply inspirational. I would not re-read it, but would recommend everyone read this once.