Edgewalkers: Defusing Cultural Boundaries on the New Global Frontier

By Nina Boyd Krebs

Book Overview

Edgewalkers are people who belong to two or more ethnic, cultural, or spiritual worlds. They reject both the idea of "melting pot" conformity and multiculturalism with its tendency to emphasize... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0882821849
• ISBN13: 9780882821849
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: New Horizon Press
• Length: 217 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Much-needed book...but a bit limited

When I scanned thorough the summary of this book, I knew I had to read it. It seemed to me to be a book written about me...until I actually read it. Krebs repeatedly brings up examples of people who are well...non-white. I am white and a product of several cultures, yet most of her examples centered on Asians, Africans, Hispanics. Which reminds me of many people and institutions' definition of diversity: "bring colored people in for window dressing". I have a friend who is born in Thailand but has absolutely no connection to the culture as he was brought up in an upper-class Western European household. In college, he was pestered with constant invitations to the Asian students' club who urged him "to explore his heritage." I bring this example to illustrate the disappointment I felt after I had finished Krebs' book. She rushes through testimonials and experiences (which seem somehow incomplete and clinical) into point-by-point "suggestions" for reconciling a multicultural person's identities and patterns of thought/behavior. Still, I could not wrangle a meaningful conclusion out of this book...it stirred my emotions but did not deliver.

Walking the Razor's Edge and Making it Work

Dr. Krebs has done the worlds of psychology, sociology, cultural anthropology, and even business a tremendous favor with her highly original concept of Edgewalkers; those people originating from a distinct ethnic culture yet successfully (repeat: successfully) living and working within a different dominant culture. This book is a must-read for students, teachers, and lay persons interested in cultural diversity issues at any level.As an organizational psychologist interested in the ways in which people productively live and play together, I am continually amazed at the lack of understanding and tolerance within our contemporary workplace. In a greater sense, aren¹t all of us members not only of the dominant culture, but also existing within one or more subcultures, sometimes voluntary, sometimes not? Dr. Krebs shines a laser beam on our contemporary cultural soup, teases out the active ingredients, and makes her case compelling for recognizing those contemporary humans that successfully walk the edge.Rex Walters, Ph.D.