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.
Philosopher and motorcycle mechanic Crawford presents a fascinating, important analysis of the value of hard work and manufacturing. He reminds readers that in the 1990s vocational education (shop class) started to become a thing of the past as U.S. educators prepared students for the "knowledge revolution." Thus, an entire generation of American "thinkers" cannot, he says, do anything, and this is a threat to manufacturing, the fundamental backbone of economic development. Crawford makes real the experience of working with one's hands to make and fix things and the importance of skilled labor. His philosophical background is evident as he muses on how to live a pragmatic, concrete life in today's ever more abstract world and issues a clarion call for reviving trade and skill development classes in American preparatory schools. The result is inspired social criticism and deep personal exploration. Crawford's work will appeal to fans of Robert Pirsig's classic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and should be required reading for all educational leaders. Highly recommended; Crawford's appreciation for various trades may intrigue readers with white collar jobs who wonder at the end of each day what they really accomplished.-Dale Farris, Groves, TX Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
Philosopher and motorcycle repair-shop owner Crawford extols the value of making and fixing things in this masterful paean to what he calls "manual competence," the ability to work with one's hands. According to the author, our alienation from how our possessions are made and how they work takes many forms: the decline of shop class, the design of goods whose workings cannot be accessed by users (such as recent Mercedes models built without oil dipsticks) and the general disdain with which we regard the trades in our emerging "information economy." Unlike today's "knowledge worker," whose work is often so abstract that standards of excellence cannot exist in many fields (consider corporate executives awarded bonuses as their companies sink into bankruptcy), the person who works with his or her hands submits to standards inherent in the work itself: the lights either turn on or they don't, the toilet flushes or it doesn't, the motorcycle roars or sputters. With wit and humor, the author deftly mixes the details of his own experience as a tradesman and then proprietor of a motorcycle repair shop with more philosophical considerations. (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 kind of book, a prophetic
and searching examination of what we've lost by ceasing to work
with our hands-and how we can get it back. During this time of
cultural anxiety and reckoning, when the conventional wisdom that
has long driven our wealthy, sophisticated culture is foundering
amid an economic and spiritual tempest, Crawford's liberating
volume appears like a lifeboat on the horizon.
-Rod Dreher, author of Crunchy Cons: The New Conservative
Counterculture and Its Return to Roots This is a deep
exploration of craftsmanship by someone with real, hands-on
knowledge. The book is also quirky, surprising, and sometimes quite
moving.
-Richard Sennett, author of The Craftsman Matt Crawford has
written a brave and indispensable book. By making a powerful case
for the enduring value of the manual trades, Shop Class as
Soulcraft offers a bracing alternative to the techno-babble
that passes for conventional wisdom, and points the way to a
profoundly necessary reconnection with the material world. No one
who cares about the future of human work can afford to ignore this
book.
-Jackson Lears, Editor in Chief, Raritan We are on the verge
of a national renewal. It will have more depth and grace if we read
Crawford's book carefully and take it to heart. He is a sharp
theorist, a practicing mechanic, and a captivating writer.
-Albert Borgmann, author of Real American Ethics Shop
Class as Soulcraft is easily the most compelling polemic since
The Closing of the American Mind. Crawford offers a stunning
indictment of the modern workplace, detailing the many ways it
deadens our senses and saps our vitality. And he describes how our
educational system has done violence to our true nature as 'homo
faber'. Better still, Crawford points in the direction of a richer,
more fulfilling way of life. This is a book that will endure.
-Reihan Salam, associate editor at The Atlantic, co-author
of Grand New Party Crawford reveals the satisfactions of the
active craftsman who cultivates his own judgment, rather than being
a passive consumer subject to manipulated fantasies of
individuality and creativity.
-Nathan Tarcov, Committee on Social Thought, University of Chicago
Philosopher and motorcycle repair-shop owner Crawford extols the
value of making and fixing things in this masterful paean to what
he calls manual competence, the ability to work with one's hands.
According to the author, our alienation from how our possessions
are made and how they work takes many forms: the decline of shop
class, the design of goods whose workings cannot be accessed by
users (such as recent Mercedes models built without oil dipsticks)
and the general disdain with which we regard the trades in our
emerging information economy. Unlike today's knowledge worker,
whose work is often so abstract that standards of excellence cannot
exist in many fields (consider corporate executives awarded bonuses
as their companies sink into bankruptcy), the person who works with
his or her hands submits to standards inherent in the work itself:
the lights either turn on or they don't, the toilet flushes or it
doesn't, the motorcycle roars or sputters. With wit and humor, the
author deftly mixes the details of his own experience as a
tradesman and then proprietor of a motorcycle repair shop with more
philosophical considerations.
-Publishers Weekly, Starred review Philosopher and
motorcycle mechanic Crawford presents a fascinating, important
analysis of the value of hard work and manufacturing. He reminds
readers that in the 1990s vocational education (shop class) started
to become a thing of the past as U.S. educators prepared students
for the knowledge revolution. Thus, an entire generation of
American thinkers cannot, he says, do anything, and this is
a threat to manufacturing, the fundamental backbone of economic
development. Crawford makes real the experience of working with
one's hands to make and fix things and the importance of skilled
labor. His philosophical background is evident as he muses on how
to live a pragmatic, concrete life in today's ever more abstract
world and issues a clarion call for reviving trade and skill
development classes in American preparatory schools. The result is
inspired social criticism and deep personal exploration. Crawford's
work will appeal to fans of Robert Pirsig's classic Zen and the
Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and should be required reading
for all educational leaders. Highly recommended; Crawford's
appreciation for various trades may intrigue readers with white
collar jobs who wonder at the end of each day what they really
accomplished.
-Library Journal
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