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

by Matthew B. Crawford

Thinking through the work of the hands

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Regular price $29.54 USD Sale price $17.72 USD
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Paperback New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

Thinking through the work of the hands

Matthew B. Crawford brings philosophical questions about work into conversation with his experience as an electrician and mechanic. The book examines the economic and psychological assumptions behind elevating “knowledge work” over skilled manual labor, and challenges the idea that thinking can be cleanly separated from doing. Its central subject is craftsmanship as both practical competence and a way of engaging with a world that can feel increasingly abstract. The combination of occupational experience and argument gives the book a concrete point of departure for considering self-reliance, education, and the value assigned to different kinds of work.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in philosophy grounded in practical work and lived experience.
  • Those exploring debates about education, knowledge work, and skilled trades.
  • Readers curious about craftsmanship, self-reliance, and the meaning of work.

Themes

Craftsmanship and skilled laborThinking and doingEducation and workSelf-relianceAbstraction and concrete experience

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A philosopher/mechanic's wise (and sometimes funny) look at the challenges and pleasures of working with one's hands

"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


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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