Why We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road - A Witty Celebration of Autonomy and Adventure in Our Automated Future
Language: English
Published by Mariner Books, 2021
- Softcover
- Used

Seller: World of Books (was SecondSale), Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.World of Books (was SecondSale)
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Condition: Used - Good
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- Title
- Why We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road - A Witty Celebration of Autonomy and Adventure in Our Automated Future
- Author
- Crawford, Matthew B.
- Publisher
- Mariner Books
- Publication year
- 2021
- Condition
- Good
- Binding
- Soft cover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 0062741977
- ISBN 13
- 9780062741974
A brilliant and defiant celebration of driving as a unique pathway of human freedom, by "one of the most influential thinkers of our time" (Sunday Times)
"Why We Drive weaves philosophers, thinkers, and scientific research with shade-tree mechanics and racers to defend our right to independence, making the case that freedom of motion is essential to who we are as a species. ... We hope you''ll read it." —Road & Track
Once we were drivers, the open road alive with autonomy, adventure, danger, trust, and speed. Today we are as likely to be in the back seat of an Uber as behind the wheel ourselves. Tech giants are hurling us toward a shiny, happy “self-driving” future, selling utopia but equally keen to advertise to a captive audience strapped into another expensive device. Are we destined, then, to become passengers, not drivers? Why We Drive reveals that much more may be at stake than we might think.
Ten years ago, in the New York Times-bestselling Shop Class as Soulcraft, philosopher-mechanic Matthew B. Crawford—a University of Chicago PhD who owned his own motorcycle shop—made a revolutionary case for manual labor, one that ran headlong against the pretentions of white-collar office work. Now, using driving as a window through which to view the broader changes wrought by technology on all aspects of contemporary life, Crawford investigates the driver’s seat as one of the few remaining domains of skill, exploration, play—and freedom.
Blending philosophy and hands-on storytelling, Crawford grounds the narrative in his own experience in the garage and behind the wheel, recounting his decade-long restoration of a vintage Volkswagen as well as his journeys to thriving automotive subcultures across the country. Crawford leads us on an irreverent but deeply considered inquiry into the power of faceless bureaucracies, the importance of questioning mindless rules, and the battle for democratic self-determination against the surveillance capitalists. A meditation on the competence of ordinary people, Why We Drive explores the genius of our everyday practices on the road, the rewards of “folk engineering,” and the existential value of occasionally being scared shitless.
Witty and ingenious throughout, Why We Drive is a rebellious and daring celebration of the irrepressible human spirit.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Matthew B. Crawfordis the author ofShop Class as SoulcraftandThe World Beyond Your Head. He is a senior fellow at the University of Virginias Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. He earned a PhD in Political Philosophy from the University of Chicago, specializing in ancient political thought; he majored in physics as an undergraduate at UC Santa Barbara. Crawfordhas been working on cars since the age of fifteen and currently drives a 1970 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
World of Books (was SecondSale)
Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since December 20, 2007
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