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Hammarskjöld: A Life
After his mysterious death, Dag Hammarskjöld was described by John F. Kennedy as the "greatest statesman of our century." Second secretary-general of the United Nations (1953 - 61), he is the only person to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously. Through extensive research in little explored archives and personal correspondence, Roger Lipsey has produced the definitive biography of Dag Hammarskjöld. Hammarskjö A Life provides vivid new insights into the life and mind of a truly great individual. Hammarskjöld the statesman and Hammarskjöld the author of the classic spiritual journal Markings meet in this new biography - and the reader will meet them both in these pages. A towering mid-twentieth-century figure, Hammarskjöld speaks directly to our time.
758 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 9, 2016
Lipsey's "Hammarskjöld" gives us a really worthwhile spiritual portrait of the late UN General Secretary - he doesn't simply focus on his role as a figure in the UN, but rather he focuses on how his spiritual development and insight shaped and came to shape him and his decisions. Particularly - he frames the entries of the inestimable "Markings" alongside the actual decisions, actions, and contexts he was responding to. In this, Lipsey's biography does something really interesting that few biographies of non-religious figures have ever attempted, and is certainly worth the read. We really get to see Hammarkjöld from multiple challenging angles, and learn to appreciate the wholeness of his character and long for a figure of his integrity to emerge again and speak sense to a time in need of spiritual, political, and moral authority and character.
That's not to say the book doesn't have some pretty big shortcomings. While well cited, it relies perhaps too heavily on Urquhart's previous biography in some chapters. Additionally, and perhaps this is due to my own occasionally sloppy reading, it seems that every now and then we will hear of criticism of Hammarskjöld (by the Soviet Union, Arabic nations, the Congolese or others), but never actually hear about their perspective apart from an accusation that it was mindless character assassination, or maneuvering for power in the UN or creating a troika. While I and I imagine most people are in awe of Hammarskjöld, this certainly didn't need to be a hagiography. Finally, and once again, this may just be sloppy reading over far too long a time, but this book is really, really dense by my standards. Finishing it was a challenge.
That's not to say the book doesn't have some pretty big shortcomings. While well cited, it relies perhaps too heavily on Urquhart's previous biography in some chapters. Additionally, and perhaps this is due to my own occasionally sloppy reading, it seems that every now and then we will hear of criticism of Hammarskjöld (by the Soviet Union, Arabic nations, the Congolese or others), but never actually hear about their perspective apart from an accusation that it was mindless character assassination, or maneuvering for power in the UN or creating a troika. While I and I imagine most people are in awe of Hammarskjöld, this certainly didn't need to be a hagiography. Finally, and once again, this may just be sloppy reading over far too long a time, but this book is really, really dense by my standards. Finishing it was a challenge.
August 14, 2018
This biography of the Swedish diplomat and second Secretary-General of the UN, covers his life and somewhat mysterious death in a plane crash. The author looks both at the man himself, and his influence on world events during his tenure as Secretary-General in the 1950s and early 1960s. He looks quite a bit at Hammarskjold's intellectual and spiritual life, and how he was widely read in the classics and medieval Christian writings. This seemed to influence him by helping him to relate to people from non-Western parts of the world with dignity and respect. I didn't know much about Hammarskjold before reading this book, but it is an excellent introduction and very readable, despite being 600 pages long.
June 11, 2016
This book, printed in 2013, is a thoughtful and insightful account of Hammarskjold's life. Lipsey is an art historian. He is sensitive to language, and to images. In this book, he often refers to entries in Hammarskjold's journal Markings. He points out nuances, he suggests interpretations, he uncovers allusions to literary writers. Lipsey deals respectfully and intelligently with these entries from Markings.
Since Hammarskjold's death in 1961, many books and magazine articles have been written. Hammarskjolds letters to friends, and their replies, have been published. Also, his speeches in the United Nations have been printed as part of United Nations history. Lipsey sometimes puts quotes of several paragraphs long, into this biography. He seeks to present the subtly of Hammarskjold's thought as it was expressed during his life.
Lipsey expertly presents the history of these times. In dealing with the Suez Canal crisis of 1976, he writes several pages about how England and France schemed with Israel, to start a war with Eqypt. He describes President Nasser, and Egyptian hopes. Then, he turns to the United Nations, what was going on there, and to how Secretary-General Hammarskjold was reacting to the crisis.
Lipsey's book is a long read. 611 pages. But in order to know how to read Markings, one has to have some knowledge of Hammarskjold and his times. Perhaps Brain Urquhart's 1972 book "Hammarskjold" would serve as well. (I haven't read it) But, with Hammarskjold, one has to study his inner life, as well as his outer life, to appreciate what he is about. In my opinion, Lipsey does this very well. In his final chapter, he discusses "Spirit" and the public life. He uses two concepts to describe Hammarskjold: a seer and an explorer.
Lastly, the enthusiasm and idealism in those post War years, about how we human beings might be able through dialogue, negotiation, and diplomacy, we might avoid war with other nations, this idealism is conveyed in Lipsey's book. It was the idealism Hammarskjold himself believed in and lived out. It is why DH is worth remembering and understanding today.
Since Hammarskjold's death in 1961, many books and magazine articles have been written. Hammarskjolds letters to friends, and their replies, have been published. Also, his speeches in the United Nations have been printed as part of United Nations history. Lipsey sometimes puts quotes of several paragraphs long, into this biography. He seeks to present the subtly of Hammarskjold's thought as it was expressed during his life.
Lipsey expertly presents the history of these times. In dealing with the Suez Canal crisis of 1976, he writes several pages about how England and France schemed with Israel, to start a war with Eqypt. He describes President Nasser, and Egyptian hopes. Then, he turns to the United Nations, what was going on there, and to how Secretary-General Hammarskjold was reacting to the crisis.
Lipsey's book is a long read. 611 pages. But in order to know how to read Markings, one has to have some knowledge of Hammarskjold and his times. Perhaps Brain Urquhart's 1972 book "Hammarskjold" would serve as well. (I haven't read it) But, with Hammarskjold, one has to study his inner life, as well as his outer life, to appreciate what he is about. In my opinion, Lipsey does this very well. In his final chapter, he discusses "Spirit" and the public life. He uses two concepts to describe Hammarskjold: a seer and an explorer.
Lastly, the enthusiasm and idealism in those post War years, about how we human beings might be able through dialogue, negotiation, and diplomacy, we might avoid war with other nations, this idealism is conveyed in Lipsey's book. It was the idealism Hammarskjold himself believed in and lived out. It is why DH is worth remembering and understanding today.
April 29, 2013
Dag Hammarskjold was the very embodiment of the international civil servant – Adlai Stevenson [579]
Fifty years after UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold perished in a plane crash while on a secret mission in Africa, biographer Roger Lipsey (Angelic Mistakes: The Art of Thomas Merton) revisits the legacy of the Swedish diplomat and thinker. Youngest son of an aristocratic family Hammarskjold held top posts with the Swedish government before the United Nations recruited him to succeed Trygve Lie in 1953. In this meticulously researched portrait the author tackles the tricky question of Hammarskjold’s private life. The fact that he was a ‘confirmed bachelor’ and good friend of poet W.H. Auden created widespread speculation. Denial was the only option; in London the following year Alan Turing, the father of computer science, committed suicide following his arrest on charges of homosexuality and subsequent treatment. Like Henry David Thoreau, Hammarskjold preferred solitude and kept a journal that posthumously became the bestseller Markings. Lipsey views his subject as a man of deep faith who showed remarkable couragein the face of Cold War crises like the 1954 face-off with Mao Zedong and the 1956 struggle over the Suez New evidence shows that his death may have been an assassination. Much like Princess Diana’s final crash, medical help was slow to arrive following the impact. Similarly, photos of the body are scarce and appear to have been retouched. Conspiracy theorists will relish the new interpretation of the murky facts.
Fifty years after UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold perished in a plane crash while on a secret mission in Africa, biographer Roger Lipsey (Angelic Mistakes: The Art of Thomas Merton) revisits the legacy of the Swedish diplomat and thinker. Youngest son of an aristocratic family Hammarskjold held top posts with the Swedish government before the United Nations recruited him to succeed Trygve Lie in 1953. In this meticulously researched portrait the author tackles the tricky question of Hammarskjold’s private life. The fact that he was a ‘confirmed bachelor’ and good friend of poet W.H. Auden created widespread speculation. Denial was the only option; in London the following year Alan Turing, the father of computer science, committed suicide following his arrest on charges of homosexuality and subsequent treatment. Like Henry David Thoreau, Hammarskjold preferred solitude and kept a journal that posthumously became the bestseller Markings. Lipsey views his subject as a man of deep faith who showed remarkable couragein the face of Cold War crises like the 1954 face-off with Mao Zedong and the 1956 struggle over the Suez New evidence shows that his death may have been an assassination. Much like Princess Diana’s final crash, medical help was slow to arrive following the impact. Similarly, photos of the body are scarce and appear to have been retouched. Conspiracy theorists will relish the new interpretation of the murky facts.
August 8, 2021
Lipsey's sensitivity to Hammarskjold's spirituality gives this biography the crucial dimension that makes any understanding of Hammarskjold a necessity. I'm very grateful to have been introduced to this extraordinary spirit through Lipsey's lens. How our world could benefit from another Hammarskjold in these days!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews