Markings

"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."


Meditations for the modern world   May 19, 2000
16 out of 16 found this review helpful

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.


A Journey into the Soul   March 21, 2002
S. Miska (Germany)
13 out of 15 found this review helpful

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.


Powerfully Reflective   January 24, 2004
Dr. W. G. Covington, Jr. (Edinboro, Pennsylvania)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

As a single man, Hammarskjold's legacy was in his work, including the recorded ideas he left. This autobiographical glimpse of the man allows the reader to empathize with the loneliness of growing old without a mate. Although his life ended on less than desirable terms, there are some positives in his story as well. Hammarskjold made the most of the hand he was dealt in life. One can see an evolution of his thoughts over time. The book starts somewhat chaotic, but to the patient reader, the growth that emerges is worth the struggle of reaching the climax.

Various other thinkers are quoted in his "markings." Sometimes it's a stream of consciousness type reflection that is recorded.

Consider this "marking" from 1956, "We act in faith--and miracles occur...Faith is, faith creates, faith carries."

Here's another jewel from the following year: "We have to acquire a peace and balance of mind such that we give every word of criticism its due weight, and humble ourselves before every word of praise."

And another excerpt: "In any human situation, it is cheating not to be, at every moment, one's best."

To conclude this review here are some final thoughts that show the power of his concluding reflections:
"...He (God) is wholly in all you meet...
...each of your acts is an act of creation...
...everything, therefore, has a meaning. So live, then, that you may use what has been put into your hand..."


My absolute favorite book of all time   October 11, 2000
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Over the years, in this collection of personal reflections and meditations, I have slowly learned, as Hammarskjold did, "the explanation of how man should live a life of active social service in full harmony with himself as a member of the community of the spirit." Hammarskjold found his answer "in the writings of those great medieval mystics for whom 'self-surrender' had been the way to self-realization, and who in 'singleness of mind' and 'inwardness' had found strength to say Yes to every demand which the needs of their neighbors made them face, and to say Yes also to every fate life had in store for them ... Love--that much misused and misinterpreted word--for them meant simply an overflowing of the strength with which they felt themselves filled when living in true self-oblivion. And this love found natural expression in an unhesitant fulfillment of duty and an unreserved acceptance of life, whatever it brought them personally of toil, suffering--or happiness."

This is my favorite quote from the entire book, one to which I have returned many times over the years, but there are many more treasures to be found in this collection. W.H. Auden's foreword I found deeply insightful, and I have returned to it as well many times over the years. How to reconcile our twentieth-century life with what is truly asked of us, when we care to face those questions, is an overarching concern throughout this book. Time and again, Hammarskjold challenges himself, and by sharing in his spiritual struggles, we challenge ourselves as well by meditating on his reflections. His writing is deeply inspiring and sobering, and I feel a sense of grateful humility at the end of each rereading of it. This is a book to keep by your bedside, to turn to when you are in despair and need some soul-strengthening.