Man's quest for meaning, faith and identity - David Perk
Man's Quest for Meaning, Faith and Identity (Personally Inscribed & Signed Presentation Copy)
A Profound Philosophical and Psychoanalytic Meditation on the Human Condition by a Pioneering South African Psychiatrist
A Profound Philosophical and Psychoanalytic Meditation on the Human Condition by a Pioneering South African Psychiatrist
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: Man's Quest for Meaning, Faith and Identity
- Author: Dr. David Perk
- Publisher: Aegis Press, Johannesburg
- Publication Date: 1975
- ISBN-10: 0620017600
- ISBN-13: 9780620017602
- Edition Details: First Edition, First Printing. Personally inscribed and hand-signed presentation copy by the author.
- Binding: Original publisher’s premium hardcover cloth boards, housed in the original illustrated dust jacket.
- Physical Format: Octavo (8vo), 127 pages.
- Language: English
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
- Exterior / Cloth Boards: The structural cloth binding is in magnificent, well-maintained condition, remaining completely square, rigid, and sharp-cornered. The spine architecture is perfect, firm, and entirely free of unseemly lean or structural cracking.
- Interior: The text block is exceptionally tight and robustly bound. Every individual page is clean, immaculate, crisp, and bright white. Free from generic ink marks, library stamps, modern highlighters, or dog-ears.
- Provenance & Inscription Relevance: Personally hand-inscribed and signed by the author, Dr. David Perk, on the first page. This signature carries deep scholastic and historical significance: written by a globally distinguished psychoanalyst and Senior Psychiatrist at Tara Hospital, this personal inscription elevates the volume from a standard reading copy into a highly personal piece of mid-century medical and philosophical heritage.
- Preservation: Beautifully protected and presented in an archival-grade, removable cellophane cover to insulate the face of the cloth boards.
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The Dust Jacket: Very Good Plus (VG+)
- Condition: The original illustrated jacket is remarkably bright and well-preserved, exhibiting only the most minor, microscopic traces of expected storage shelf-wear. It remains completely unclipped, rich in tone, and entirely free of prominent sun-fading, amateur tape repairs, or deep tears.
Synopsis & Historical Value
Published in 1975 by Johannesburg's Aegis Press, Man's Quest for Meaning, Faith and Identity stands as a brilliant, deeply reflective intersection of clinical psychoanalysis, spiritual inquiry, and existential philosophy.
Published in 1975 by Johannesburg's Aegis Press, Man's Quest for Meaning, Faith and Identity stands as a brilliant, deeply reflective intersection of clinical psychoanalysis, spiritual inquiry, and existential philosophy.
Written during a time of immense global and domestic cultural transformation, Dr. David Perk leverages his extensive, multi-decade career in psychiatry to dissect the deep internal crises facing the modern individual. Moving beyond basic clinical therapy, Perk's essays dive into the necessary frameworks of personal faith, identity crises, and the ongoing human search for existential purpose. The text masterfully synthesizes deep philosophical traditions with clinical observations of human behavior, exploring how compassion, mental resilience, and spiritual foundations shield the human psyche from modern alienation. Standing alongside classical mid-century existential psychological texts, this rare, author-inscribed first printing serves as an invaluable acquisition for collectors of vintage psychiatry history, medical philosophy, and rare twentieth-century South African private press monographs.
Author Profile: Dr. David Perk
Dr. David Perk (1903–1994) was a celebrated Lithuanian-born South African psychoanalyst, military veteran, and medical intellectual. After reading medicine and earning his MD at the University of Leeds, he completed his psychiatric training in England and served with distinction as a Captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the Second World War. Upon returning to South Africa, he established an elite legacy as the Senior Psychiatrist at Johannesburg's famed Tara Hospital, a Clinical Tutor at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), and a Foundation Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. A prolific writer known for philosophically inclined monographs like The Mystery of the Human Mind, Dr. Perk was a leading voice who reshaped clinical mental health treatment and psychiatric theory throughout Southern Africa.
Dr. David Perk (1903–1994) was a celebrated Lithuanian-born South African psychoanalyst, military veteran, and medical intellectual. After reading medicine and earning his MD at the University of Leeds, he completed his psychiatric training in England and served with distinction as a Captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the Second World War. Upon returning to South Africa, he established an elite legacy as the Senior Psychiatrist at Johannesburg's famed Tara Hospital, a Clinical Tutor at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), and a Foundation Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. A prolific writer known for philosophically inclined monographs like The Mystery of the Human Mind, Dr. Perk was a leading voice who reshaped clinical mental health treatment and psychiatric theory throughout Southern Africa.
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