Man's Search for Meaning

Published Information

Author:	Viktor E. Frankl
Published:	1959
Genre:	Historical Biography
Pages:	165

Ratings

Reading Age:	High school
Buy Recommend:	Hardbound
Overall Rating:	8 out of 10

Plot Summary

This book is a memoir of Mr. Frankl and his experience in a concentration camp. In particular what he and others did to survive the experience, in comparison to those that didn't survive. Then he uses these ideas to discuss how others should live their lives because of what he has learned. It is very short book, and doesn't go into much depth on the actual suffering, leaving that to works by other authors, but rather the mentalities and tools needed to survive traumatic events in life.

Comments

Mr. Frankl's experience and the ideas/teachings he was able to draw from are inspiring. It is interesting to me that often times, the greatest teachings or lessons learned in life are from the greatest adversity. We see the same idea in religion and around the world. And while I won't being reading this book every day, I will be picking it up every couple of years to see if I can pick up other lessons that might apply to a different epoch in my life. This was a powerful and humbling book.

This is one of those books that is the "Book of the Month" by many book clubs my friends belong to. It is life changing, with plenty to discuss. This was required reading for one of my MBA classes, as well as required reading for my daughter in high school this next year.

Dune

Published Information

Author:	Frank Herbert
Series:	Dune
Published:	1965
Genre:	Sci Fi
Pages:	544

Ratings

Violence:	PG-13 (Brutal fight scenes, battles)
Sexual Content:	PG-13 (Some sexual dialog)
Language:	PG-13 (B-word used)
Reading Age:	High School
Buy Recommend:	Hardbound (I have read several times)
Overall Rating:	9 out of 10 (See below)

Plot Summary

The book is set in a futuristic society that spans galaxies and intergalactic travel is common. There are several races or societies that exist: the navigators and the CHOAM guild who have the ability to guide shape ships through interstellar "space folds", Bene Gesserit sisters who have memories of generations of other sisters in their heads and are expert at manipulation and mind/body control, Suk School doctors who are highly trained physicians supposedly totally loyal to their employers, mentats who are basically human computers (most computers having been outlawed because of history predating the novel), and several important families, chief in the book being the Atreides, and the Harkonnens. And most important of all, melange or the "Spice", is a enhancement drug that most of the universe depends on for space travel, computations, and other abilities that people depend upon. This drug is only found on one planet, Arrakis, desert world and home of the Fremen and the gigantic desert worms the Freman ride.

Dune is the story of Paul Atreides who starts the book as the son of the Duke Leto Atreides, but is left to die in the deserts of Arrakis with his mother, after Duke Leto is captured. They find their way to the Fremen and are taken in and live with them. As Paul grows, it becomes evident that he is more important to the universe than anyone thought. Paul becomes the leader of the Freman and the one man that can control the spice distribution. In the end all the factions travel to Arrakis to fight for who controls the spice and who rules the galactic empire.

Comments

The book is the standard "prince is exiled/thought dead but in the end is able to regain his position and more" book, but in a science fiction world. But though the tale is very common, the specifics are so imaginative and believable that it has become one of the classics, much like the Lord of the Rings is in the fantasy realm.

The book encompasses so many different ideas that you pick up different gems each time you read. "Fear is the great mind-killer" is a mantra that many characters take up, meaning when you allow fear to take over, you can't accomplish anything. Fear, itself, ends up being the killer if you can't control it because you panic rather than doing what is rational.

Another theme is the greatest strength comes from passing through the greatest affliction and suffering. In the book, a Bene Gesserit's rite of passage is suffering a torturous pain without flinching, the greatest warriors in the universe are trained in the most harsh and destitute climates, and the Reverend Mother's sight comes from allowing a deadly poison to enter your body and making your body change the poison to something that is safe. In real life, some of the greatest heroes are those that have overcome great odds to be able to influence lives. In some cases that is poverty, in other cases, oppression and hatred. But in the book, as with life, our greatest accomplishments are after we have passed through our individual trial, our own gom jabbar.

One thing to note. This is one of Frank Herbert's most tame books as far as content goes and this in the only one I would recommend. Be careful picking up other books of his, or other Dune books written after his death by his son. Specifically, violence and sexual content are ratcheted up quite a bit in some of the other books.