Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work - Softcover

Crawford, Matthew B.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143117467 ISBN 13: 9780143117469

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2010

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

Matthew B. Crawford is a philosopher and mechanic. He has a Ph.D. in political philosophy from the University of Chicago and served as a postdoctoral fellow on its Committee on Social Thought. Currently a fellow at the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, he owns and operates Shockoe Moto, an independent motorcycle repair shop in Richmond, Virginia.

From AudioFile:

Crawford offers a compelling book at a time when we struggle to define our values amid the whirl of technological progress. However, narrator Max Bloomquist falls a little short in his performance. Crawford argues that while technology entices us with promises of convenience and ease, our ignorance about the mechanics of our magic machines disempowers us as a society and as individuals. Though competent, Bloomquist's voice doesn't do full justice to the ominous warnings--reminiscent of Huxley--implied in the book. At times, Bloomquist's delivery even has a note of what sounds like condescension that seems unintended by the author. Still, the experience of listening to Crawford's book while driving or working might bring home the power of its message. L.P. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0143117467
• ISBN 13: 9780143117469
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 246