Rating: 
Summary: A Real Breakthrough
Review: A book that breaks new ground on the subject of work. I was stimulated to think about what I did and how I did it in completely novel ways. In reading Whyte's words I felt new vistas and possibilities opening up for me in my way forward. Life and work need a lot of courage this book gives you a dose of it.
Rating:
Summary: Superb Prose, Wonderful Insight.
Review: A brilliant evocation of many of the hidden currents of meaning that lie beneath our everyday struggles in work. The book carried me along on its own tide of discovery and insight. The story of his mother's arrival in England to look for work in the nineteen fifties and the final chapter on Keats with its meditation on the ultimate questions of life and work moved me deeply. It is a book you can read both for the pleasure of the writing and the stories and philosophy of life that come with it. Perhaps the best book I have ever read on the subject .
Rating:
Summary: A Life Changer of a Book
Review: Couldn't put this book down, had to read it from beginning to end and immediately it was done, I started slowly again from the beginning. I found myself making hundreds of little crossings as I read David Whyte's beautiful prose: crossing to memories of childhood, to crucial thresholds in my life as a young woman, to a deeper sense of my present life and a fuller sense of the future. Amidst all the success oriented drivel out there on the subject of work this is a real heirloom gem; something to be passed on to others as a gift, to be thanked for, and to be talked about for years to come.
Rating: 
Summary: Zero stars is a more accurate rating.
Review: Crossing the Unknown Sea was required reading for a Leadership class and was perhaps the most excruciating and labourous book I have ever read. Whyte simply does not know how to get to the point, and uses metaphor extraneously and as his modus operandi to skirt around every issue he attempts to discuss. Additionally, he references his own poems ad nauseum.A case in point. In chapter 10, Whyte goes on, and on, and on... about each aspect of the day and its importance. When speaking about the night he says, "The unknown is the dark basket into which we plunge our hands to bring out words that feed the hungry and clothe the poor - as good a definition of poetry as we might find." This (...) does not belong in business school. The pretension drips from the pages and any quality comments that Whyte attempts to say are lost in his reliance upon metaphor. His attempt at being poetic just do not pass the litmus test. I do, however, highly recommend this book to insomniacs. It is a sure-fire cure that will put you right to sleep.
Rating: 
Summary: Gorgeous but not easily accessible
Review: David Whyte is a poet from Ireland, living in New Zealand, who is known for his work as a workshop facilitator and business consultant. Last year _The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America_ engrossed, as no other business-related book has since Tom Peter's _Search for Excellence_ or Covey's _Ten Habits_. Whyte's recent _Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity_ is especially good for anyone undergoing a career shift. A unique offering by this poet-as-management-consultant, presents an invigorating perspective from which to view business life. If you find it difficult to imagine corporate culture and human creativity as anything except mutually exclusive, these readable volumes are an agreeable remedy.
Rating:
Summary: Astonishing!
Review: I read The Heart ARoused and found it interesting, appreciated the poetic references. But Crossing the Unknown Sea! It was one inspiring book. And I would add that it is not only a "pilgrimage of Identity" and that it applies to the work environment, but basically, it has to do "where the Self meets the World" whether at work, in a relationship, or, as in my case, in retirement, which is a whole new arena of "self-meeting-soul." David reports "constant busyness has no absence in it - no birdsong at the start of the day." And that is where so many retirement plans falter. Without busyness, the retiree fears boredom, becomes entranced with golf or bridge or ?? and instead, finds him/herself terrified at the absence of meaning in his/her life. As a poet, I was inspired by David's meeting with Brother David, the matter of the antidote for exhaustion, "not necessarily rest," but "wholeheartedness." I was alive at the meeting between those two Souls, I felt as though i were there, hearing that word again, "wholeheartedness" and David's resolve "to do at least one thing every day toward (his)future life as a poet." And Brother David's extraordinary courage to confront his friend with the fact that he "was beginning to rot on the vine." I read this as I gazed at the mountains around Mammoth Lake - and remembered that whatever one's passion, a vow to work toward that goal every day is the only way to sail across that unknown sea. This book holds its place of honor on my bookcase, is a book I have sent to my children, and to special friends, friends who can appreciate the vast calm and meaning within its pages.
Rating:
Summary: Insight into who you are and who you wanna be
Review: I read this book a couple of months back when it was handed out at the end of a leadership seminar I attended. It is really an exceptional piece of literature. Some of the basic principles of life and work have been explained through simple art of story telling.
I work in a hostile environment. The management believes that employees are there to work for them and to tolerate their whims and fancies. For example, at the beginning of every new project our director asks for 10 different documents none of which is actually ever used. He insults people by belittling their contribution and makes life miserable for anybody who dares to stand up to him.
After reading this book I realized why I am working, who I represent everyday, what are my duties as an employee and what will happen if I quit. David's wisdom gave me strength to reassess my life and priorities and I realized that we had been dealing with work in a wrong way. Our work is really a way for us to express ourselves to the world. It is a window to our character and creativity. If someone insults me, he is insulting my parents, my family, all that I am.
I found the ideas revealing, the prose lucid and thought strong. I decided to act. Next time when the confrontation occurred, instead of running away, I stood up to my manager and told him that company policy forbids him from saying and doing things he had been doing. I further told him that I have worked honestly and if he couldn't respect that, he could hire someone who can do a better job.
From that day, he has stopped raising his voice and has become a very rational person with me. He knows I work hard and I don't listen to unreasonable demands and behavior.
I have been having a great time at work. My coworkers think I am great because the director listens to me and respects me. What they need to learn is that he respects my strenght and clarity of thought, 2 things that I aquired from this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good thinking, bad writing
Review: If you can get past the writing, there's good, thought-provoking material here. Reflections on identity and calling, on the journey and on arriving have caused me to see things in different ways and will, I think, end up having been influential in my own history. What more could you ask for in a book?
One thing, actually: better writing. Where the heck was the editor? 1/3 of the way through the book I actually said out loud, "If he uses the word 'conversation' one more time, I'm going to scream." I found the style imprecise, repetitive and melodramatic.
As David might say, though, have a glass of wine, take a deep breath, and read it anyway.
Rating:
Summary: A Fine Navigational Aid
Review: There is so little real literature out there on the subject of work and its effect on the individual so it was wonderful to come across David Whyte's Crossing. I found this book a real jewel, a kind of navigational aid in helping me to reach a few horizons I had almost forgotten about. Crossing the Unknown Sea is both a marvellous, insightful tour of the human psyche and a deeply satisfying read. I recommend it to anyone giving their life or their work some real thought.
Rating:
Summary: Helped Me to Move
Review: This is a book recommended to me by a close friend, and one that has helped me to change my sense of myself, my sense of my work and my possibilities for the future. Crossing the Unknown Sea compells the reader by its mesmerizing stories and its unusual insight to take another step forward whatever that next step might be. My copy is marked and underlined from beginning to end and sits by my bedside for reference when I need a touch of inspiration and courage. Highly recommended.
|
