Shop Class as Soulcraft

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106513632

An excerpt:

"What sort of personality does one need to have, as a twenty-first-century mechanic, to tolerate the layers of electronic bullE36 M3 that get piled on top of machines?"

I kindof want to read this book now.

Dude, between this and The Art Of Racing In The Rain, those are probably the only 2 books that half of us GRMers have read other than textbooks and shop manuals.

I love the idea of that book, but found the writing not to my taste. The guy could've made his entire point in about a tenth of the book, but he took too many philosophy classes in college and now he cannot write concise, to the point sentences.

I would recommend just watching some YouTubes of Mike Rowe.

T.J. wrote: I love the idea of that book, but found the writing not to my taste. The guy could've made his entire point in about a tenth of the book, but he took too many philosophy classes in college and now he cannot write concise, to the point sentences. I would recommend just watching some YouTubes of Mike Rowe.

^^^^ this

^^^also loved the concept of the book but find it ironic that the guy advocating shop skills for a vocation makes the majority of his living as a university professor and writer. I still dig Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

That's probably the only thing stopping me from dropping 30 bucks on the book. Just from the excerpt on the NPR site, he seems a bit wordier than I prefer (heck, the book is over 300 pages). But as a college-educated guy myself, I appreciate writing that sounds like it actually took some thought.

@ oltin: I thought the point of the book was that he quit the university life and opened a motorcycle repair shop?

I bought this book, and started reading it, but I got bored of the author's writing style very fast. I do agree with the premise of the book though. Maybe I should give it another shot.

In reply to SilverFleet:

Nope, no reason to. You got everything out of it that you need.

In reply to T.J.:

So, pretty much, he quits his job at a university "think tank" doing basically nothing and opens up a motorcycle shop so he could do something that brings actual value to society, and advocates that skilled labor is a valuable commodity that should not be shunned in modern day society... do I have it right?

In reply to volvoclearinghouse:

Research Fellow at University of Virginia and contributing editor at a magazine. Even so, I still agree with the thought of personal agency - that no matter what you do to get an income, you're pretty much working for yourself. Having your own craft or business just makes it less abstract.

SilverFleet wrote: In reply to T.J.: So, pretty much, he quits his job at a university "think tank" doing basically nothing and opens up a motorcycle shop so he could do something that brings actual value to society, and advocates that skilled labor is a valuable commodity that should not be shunned in modern day society... do I have it right?

You ought to work for Cliffs Notes.

That_Renault_Guy wrote:

T.J. wrote: I love the idea of that book, but found the writing not to my taste. The guy could've made his entire point in about a tenth of the book, but he took too many philosophy classes in college and now he cannot write concise, to the point sentences. I would recommend just watching some YouTubes of Mike Rowe.

^^^^ this

Agree 100%. Put the book after getting half way through it. I really wanted to love it, but just couldn't. Mostly I got that the author wanted to demonstrate, "See I'm smart and I'm working with my hands"

I much prefer John Jerome's Truck.

T.J. wrote: I love the idea of that book, but found the writing not to my taste. The guy could've made his entire point in about a tenth of the book, but he took too many philosophy classes in college and now he cannot write concise, to the point sentences. I would recommend just watching some YouTubes of Mike Rowe.

Amen!

One of the few books I was not able to finish. Treacle prose.

Not that I am not fully on-board with the message.

I actually felt bad about starting it and not finishing. Now I don't. I agree with pretty much everything from the third post down.

I can't believe some of you guys managed to wade through the steaming pile of horseE36 M3 that comprises Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance , but had difficulty sticking it out through Shop Class as Soulcraft. It was 10x clearer, half the length, and 100x less annoying.

I read it all the way through (shop teacher here). He got better about half-way through the book, but initially he was very, very, very wordy, and that was difficult to slug through.

I read it. It was good. You got the basics from the posts above. I won't be reading it again.

Sounds as if it's the exact opposite of The Art of Racing in the Rain, the first half of which was absolutely brilliant, and the second half read like it was written by a high school sophomore after midnight on the night before it was due.

I read it and enjoyed it for the most part. I'm with SkinnyG the second half did pick up a bit.

Well now I'm just all confused.

It was a good book, ~probably~ worth the read. I wouldn't drop $30 on it - try and find it at your local library instead. I can't remember if I bought mine or had it given to me.

About 2 years ago a buddy of mine (who is not an engineer, but works in the technology sector, and who shares my passion for cars and history) gave me a book he'd picked up out of the donate pile from his local library. I can't find the book now, nor recall the title of it, but the crux of it was the struggle between the old engineering "shop culture" and the up-and-coming "school culture" of engineering. Interestingly, the book was written over 50 years ago. An interesting read, both in the context of its times and in the present day. People have been thinking about this stuff pretty much since the beginnings of the industrial revolution.

I bought "Soulcraft" used on Ebay for around five bucks. It was worth that, but not a penny more. The guy suffers from the same disease most writers of philosophy do...using too many damn words to make a simple point (see also, "Zen" and "Atlas Shrugged").

Mike Rowe is far better at spreading the message through his talks and appearances. He's also LOL, hysterically hilarious on Facebook. If you haven't 'liked' him yet, you need to.

'Soulcraft' was definitely wordy, but there are some gems in there like the 'Betty Crocker Cruiser'. I have 'Zen' also, it is a completely different style of book from 'Shopcraft' because it was written for a totally different reason.

Duke wrote: ... the steaming pile of horseE36 M3 that comprises *Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance* ...

"Dick and Jane" it ain't. That doesn't necessarily make it a steaming pile.

See also: Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, Beckett, etc. Serious literature isn't always an easy read.

But that's fine. It's not for everyone.

I read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" back in college. I remember thinking it was OK...my interest in various parts of the story varied.

Most people nowadays suffer from short attention span. Shakespeare would be a flop if he were born in the 1980's. Most of us can barely finish a sente...