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No cover — Shop class as soulcraft (2009, Thorndike Press)

341 pages

English language

Published Jan. 18, 2009 by Thorndike Press.

OCLC Number:: 417435424

(1 review)

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 handsShop Class as Soulcraft brings alive an experience that was once quite ordinary, but now seems to be receding over the cultural horizon—the experience of making and fixing things. Working with your hands, as Mathew B. Crawford describes it, connects us to the world around us. Those of us who sit in an office often have intuitions of something gone amiss, a sense of unreality accompanied by feelings of impotence. What, after all, do we do all day? In this wholly original debut, Crawford offers a brief for self-reliance and a sustained reflection on this problem: how to live concretely in an ever more abstract world. Shop Class as Soulcraft seeks to restore the honor of the manual trades as a life worth choosing …

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 handsShop Class as Soulcraft brings alive an experience that was once quite ordinary, but now seems to be receding over the cultural horizon—the experience of making and fixing things. Working with your hands, as Mathew B. Crawford describes it, connects us to the world around us. Those of us who sit in an office often have intuitions of something gone amiss, a sense of unreality accompanied by feelings of impotence. What, after all, do we do all day? In this wholly original debut, Crawford offers a brief for self-reliance and a sustained reflection on this problem: how to live concretely in an ever more abstract world. Shop Class as Soulcraft seeks to restore the honor of the manual trades as a life worth choosing for anyone who felt hustled off to college, then to the cubicle, against their own inclinations and natural bents. On both economic and psychological grounds, Crawford questions the educational imperative of turning everyone into a “knowledge worker.” This imperative, he explains, is based on a misguided separation of thinking from doing, the work of the hand from that of the mind. Crawford shows in precise detail how such a partition, which began a century ago with the assembly line, degrades work for those on both sides of the divide.But he offers good news as well: The manual trades are very different from factory work. They require a lot of thinking and may even give rise to moments of genuine pleasure. Based on his own experience as an electrician and mechanic, Crawford makes a case for the intrinsic satisfactions and cognitive challenges— the soulcraft—of manual work. The work of builders and mechanics cannot be outsourced. They tie us to the local communities in which we live and instill the pride that comes from doing work that is genuinely useful.Speaking squarely to a culture that continues to grapple for a way to reconcile work and life and to find fulfilling work of all stripes, Shop Class as Soulcraft offers inspired social criticism and deep personal exploration. It will change your understanding of the value of work and the work of bringing value and meaning to your life, whatever you do now or hope to do one day.

1 edition

Koven Smith reviewed Shop class as soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford

Review of 'Shop class as soulcraft' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I find this a rather difficult book to review. In many ways, this is one of the best books about the idea of work I've ever read; almost every page has some pithy insight that caused me to think about work in a new way. This makes for a generally enjoyable and enlightening read. However, the book's overall narrative doesn't quite hang together for me; I found myself constantly highlighting amazing passages while having a hard time retaining the context for those passages even as I was reading them. For this reason, the book is almost best consumed as a collection of amazing pull quotes rather than as a compelling single argument.

I think there are two reasons for this. The first is that Crawford's arguments, which start rationally and proceed logically, too often devolve into what feel more like rants against corporate/management culture. These rants are generally on target, …

I find this a rather difficult book to review. In many ways, this is one of the best books about the idea of work I've ever read; almost every page has some pithy insight that caused me to think about work in a new way. This makes for a generally enjoyable and enlightening read. However, the book's overall narrative doesn't quite hang together for me; I found myself constantly highlighting amazing passages while having a hard time retaining the context for those passages even as I was reading them. For this reason, the book is almost best consumed as a collection of amazing pull quotes rather than as a compelling single argument.

I think there are two reasons for this. The first is that Crawford's arguments, which start rationally and proceed logically, too often devolve into what feel more like rants against corporate/management culture. These rants are generally on target, but rely too heavily on anecdotal information to really carry that much weight. The second reason the narrative feels a little flaky for me is Crawford's male-centric point of view. While I wouldn't necessarily characterize points he makes as misogynist, a troubling thread of "manliness" (in which he argues that certain qualities of self-reliance and skill are representative of "being a man") pops up throughout the book. Every time it did, I lost the plot.

So, a mixed bag. I feel that this is required reading for anyone trying to navigate the modern world of work, but I certainly can't recommend it wholeheartedly. YMMV.

Subjects

Work
Large type books