The Case for Working with Your Hands: or Why Office Work is Bad for Us and Fixing Things Feels Good - Hardcover

Crawford, Matthew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670918741 ISBN 13: 9780670918744

Publisher: Viking, 2010

Synopsis

Why do some jobs offer fulfilment while others leave us frustrated? Why do we so often think of our working selves as separate from our 'true' selves?
Over the course of the twentieth century, we have separated mental work from manual labour, replacing the workshop with either the office cubicle or the factory line. In this inspiring and persuasive book, Matthew Crawford explores the dangers of this false distinction and presents instead the case for working with your hands. He brings to life the immense psychological and intellectual satisfactions of making and fixing things, explores the moral benefits of a technical education and, at a time when jobs are increasingly being outsourced over the internet, argues that the skilled manual trades may be one of the few sure paths to a good living. Drawing on the work of our greatest thinkers, from Aristotle to Heidegger, from Karl Marx to Iris Murdoch, as well as on his own experiences as an electrician and motorcycle mechanic, Crawford delivers a radical, timely and extremely enjoyable re-evaluation of our attitudes to work.

About this title

Product Description:

Rare Book

Review:

The best book I have read for ages ... a profound exploration of modern education, work and capitalism ... I happen to know it is in [Education Secretary] Mr Gove's in-tray ... its analysis applies with horrible precision to our education system (Matthew d'Ancona Telegraph)

A philosophy of how life should be lived, how children should be educated and how economies should be run ... Full of interesting stories and thought-provoking aperçus enlivened with humour ... Important, memorable and enjoyable (Louis de Bernières The Times)

A next-generation Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to rally the millions who feel emotionally disconnected from work (Financial Times)

Persuasive and timely (The Times)

A powerful new book (David Willetts, Universities and Science Minister Telegraph)

A deep exploration of craftsmanship by someone with real hands-on knowledge. Quirky, surprising and moving (Richard Sennett)

A stunning indictment of the modern workplace ... Crawford points in the direction of a richer, more fulfilling way of life. This is a book that will endure (Reihan Salam The Atlantic)

A beautiful little book about human excellence (New York Times)

A superb combination of testimony and reflection, and you can't put it down (Harvey Mansfield, Professor of Government at Harvard)

A bestseller in the United States, but its critique of 'post-industrial' capitalism is equally pertinent here ... Will be enjoyed for its iconoclasm, swagger and dry humour (Telegraph)

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0670918741
• ISBN 13: 9780670918744
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256