Markings (Paperback)

by Dag Hammarskjold (Author), W. H. Auden (Translator), L. Fitzgerald Sjoberg (Translator), Jimmy Carter (Preface) "I am being driven forward Into an unknown land..." (more)
Key Phrases: Kingdom of God, Meister Eckhart

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Perhaps the greatest testament of personal devotion published in this century."—The New York Times

"The conviction when one has finished [Markings is] that one has had the privilege of being in contact with a great, good, and lovable man."—W. H. Auden

Product Description
Universally known and admired as a peacemaker, Dag Hammarskjöld concealed a remarkable intense inner life which he recorded over several decades in this journal of poems and spiritual meditations, left to be published after his death. A dramatic account of spiritual struggle, Markings has inspired hundreds of thousands of readers since it was first published in 1964.

Markings is distinctive, as W.H. Auden remarks in his foreword, as a record of "the attempt by a professional man of action to unite in one life the via activa and the via contemplativa." It reflects its author's efforts to live his creed, his belief that all men are equally the children of God and that faith and love require of him a life of selfless service to others. For Hammarskjöld, "the road to holiness necessarily passes through the world of action." Markings is not only a fascinating glimpse of the mind of a great man, but also a moving spiritual classic that has left its mark on generations of readers.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; Tra edition (October 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307277429
• ISBN-13: 978-0307277428
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #98,107 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Active vs. contemplative life, August 11, 2000

By	Brian Melendez (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Markings (Hardcover)

Hammarskjold was a Swedish diplomat who served as secretary-general of the United Nations at the height of the Cold War (and whose death in a plane crash in Africa in 1961 may not have been an accident). Throughout his life he struggled with balancing the tension between the active life and the contemplative life that always faces the political intellectual. This book is his private journal, in which he struggles with a deeply personal and private faith in the context of a vocation that called him to one of the most visible and influential offices in international politics. That struggle, which emerges in bits and pieces in entries that span nearly four decades, both celebrates life and indulges deep feelings of doubt and isolation.

"Markings" is far more a work of philosophy than autobiography. Hammarskjold's frend W.H. Auden contributes a moving foreword that supplies a context for Hammarskjold's writing. But as the foreword notes, Hammarskjold does not "make a single direct reference to his career as an international civil servant, to the persons he met, or the historical events of his time in which he played an important role."

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Meditations for the modern world, May 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Markings (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought my first copy of Dag Hammarskjold's book of meditations, Markings, shortly after its release in the early 1960's. It was a strange and haunting book and left me deeply affected. Hammarskjold, for many years the Secretary General of the United Nations - at a time when there was still high hope for the U.N. to eliminate war and improve human welfare around the globe - wrote this journal of spiritual search and dispair in apparent recognition of his failure to achieve the high goals he aspired to. I forget who I gave that first book to, but I have since purchased and given away many copies of this book. There is much that all of us modern, media drugged folks can learn from the insights he penned in his dark moments. It is both uplifting to realize the depth of soul that can exist behind public action and at the same time depressing to recognize that no amount of fame or power will necessarily bring happiness or overcome one's sense of isolation in the universe.

This is not a book one can just sit down and read. It is, as the title suggests, a journal of isolated notes or 'Markings' that Hammarskjold made over a long period of time. Many similar ideas and themes are repeated in different words throughout the book and the reader really has to pause frequently to think about what he has read. This is not an uplifting book but ultimately it is a very moving one, and to the extent that it encourages similar meditations from the reader, potentially a very valuable one as well. I highly recommend this book for those hours when a reader wants to turn inward and shine a light on what is really meaningful in life.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Journey into the Soul, March 20, 2002

By	S. Miska (Germany) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Markings (Hardcover)

I like this book. It captures the innermost struggles and thoughts of a man who achieved greatness in many senses. Dag Hammarskjold's musings illuminate that even people of worldly importance wrestle with the same internal conflicts that the rest of mankind does, when we take the time to reflect. That a man as busy as the U.N. Secretary General took the time to engage in such introspection speaks highly of his humility and character.

Markings has given me inspiration to continue exploring my own innermost struggles through journaling and taking counsel with my conscience on long runs. If we could all emulate Hammarskjold's ability to capture the essence of a moment, feeling or internal conflict, we would probably be more at peace with the world and ourselves. Highly recommended for any wishing to peer into the thoughts of a philosophical leader.