The following review was contributed by S.V.SWAMY

The Soul of Work by Louise Underdahl is an excellent treatise on work culture, work organization and all other aspects connected with people and working.

The book is the result of the author's doctoral research at University of California and fetched her a well-earned Ph.D in Public Administration.

In about 300 pages, the author puts forth well-structured views about work culture in various organizations and presents a good case for treating the work as fun and not as a chore. That is what she means by A Quest for the Transcendent. To transcend boredom and an attitude of working for a living to a state of living for work!

In the words of the author:

"" To better use the time we are given...to make the most of those shining moments. Challenge, inspiration, raison d'etre. Since the average individual spends most waking hours on the job, work presents unprecedented opportunities to better use the time we are given.

Transcendent work negates the need to escape, eliminates the ""I'd be rather sailing, skiing, golfing"" mindset. The soul of work lies in the enduring satisfaction which only personal growth through purposeful endeavor can provide. The transitory exhilaration of amusement cannot compare to the genuine fulfillment of meaningful, creative, and challenging work.

Transcndent work is the apogee of fun and the optimal use of those shining moments.""

The first three chapters form the background, where the author gives the work done by others, concepts of work, and raises the important question, why do some people say, 'I'd rather be working?' The next four chapters detail the actual research work carried out. Part III gives the conclusion of her research work in the space of three chapters. The author gives selected references as Bibliography in Part IV.

I share with you the potential reader of the book, what I wrote at the end of the book: "" This book doesn't give you straight do's and don'ts to improve your worklife or to have fun at your work place. But if you are a researcher, you will find a gold-mine of information and references in this book.""

If you are looking for some light-reading to spend an afternoon, this is certainly not recommended. If however, you are interested in a very important subject and would like to either implement some of the ideas in this book in your workplace (as a HRD manager for example) or if you are an individual looking for some pointers to understand your own approach to work, you will certainly find this book useful.