In this wise and often funny book, a philosopher/mechanic systematically destroys the pretensions of the high-prestige workplace and makes an irresistible case for working with one's hands.

Reviews

Max Bloomquist brings his considerable talents to Crawford's meditation on the meaning of work and disparity between "blue collar" and "white collar" occupations. Crawford draws on his own experience-he quit a miserable think tank job and has found joy and meaning working as a motorcycle mechanic-to question the presumed value of the cubicle working world, deplore society's disconnection from the material world and vividly convey the reward of working with one's hands. Bloomquist reads with authority and erudition; his steady, everyman narration makes Crawford's well-founded arguments even more persuasive. A Penguin Press hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 20). (June) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

"It's appropriate that ["Shop Class as Soulcraft"] arrives in May, the month when college seniors commence real life. Skip Dr. Seuss, or a tie from Vineyard Vines, and give them a copy for graduation.... It's not an insult to say that "Shop Class" is the best self-help book that I've ever read. Almost all works in the genre skip the "self" part and jump straight to the "help." Crawford rightly asks whether today's cubicle dweller even has a respectable self....It's kind of like Heidegger and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance."
-"Slate"
"Matt Crawford's remarkable book on the morality and metaphysics of the repairman looks into the reality of practical activity. It is a superb combination of testimony and reflection, and you can't put it down."
-Harvey Mansfield, Professor of Government, Harvard University
"Every once in a great while, a book will come along that's brilliant and true and perfect for its time. Matthew B. Crawford's "Shop Class as Soulcraft" is that