Publisher Description
A philosopher/mechanic’s wise (and sometimes funny) look at the challenges and pleasures of working with one’s hands Called “the sleeper hit of the publishing season” by The Boston Globe, Shop Class as Soulcraft became an instant bestseller, attracting readers with its radical (and timely) reappraisal of the merits of skilled manual labor. On both economic and psychological grounds, author Matthew B. Crawford questions the educational imperative of turning everyone into a “knowledge worker,” based on a misguided separation of thinking from doing. Using his own experience as an electrician and mechanic, Crawford presents a wonderfully articulated call for self-reliance and a moving reflection on how we can live concretely in an ever more abstract world.
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“This book articulated for me so many restless, truly hateful thoughts I have about the world and why I feel so uncomfortable functioning within its expected boundaries. The premise is essentially that our world (college, careers, consumer culture) have morphed into something that deals entirely in abstractions rather than a physical reality, and we are therefore disconnected from it. We create a false reality for ourselves by living in our heads, inventing foundations for our beliefs, thoughts, and activities that are rooted in theoretical nothingness rather than something tangible. Moreover, there is some strange, persistent ideology that abstractions and theoretical concepts are somehow more intelligent, insightful, or more difficult to grasp than, say, fixing a motorcycle. Untrue. More than anything, I am pleased that my aversion to grad school–and anything involving linear careers, perfect resumes, or other cookie cutter means of identity and proof of intelligence–is not a unique experience.”
—
Kristin (5 out of 5 stars)
