Dirty Hands, Clean Mind
Mt. Airy, Philadelphia. As I read Matt Crawford’s Shop Class as Soulcraft, I thought often of Simone Weil, that young champion of the workers...
The Tacit Dimension of Shop Class
Kearneysville, WV. Whenever I pick up a book dealing with ways of knowing, I invariably flip to the index to see if the author...
Shop Class and the Romantic Mode of Politics
It goes without saying that Matthew Crawford’s Shop Class as Soulcraft is compelling. Discussed on NPR, profiled in The New York Times and The...
The Whole Hog
Alexandria, VA They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but you can sometimes tell how the book’s designers wanted the book...
Recognition and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Matt Crawford is a good friend of mine, and I read and commented on early drafts of Shop Class as Soulcraft, and so I...
Working with Words
A few years ago I dated a guy who seemed terrific. Nate (not his real name) was cute, smart, funny, and athletic. Oh, and...
A Certified Deep Thinker
I don’t like machines. I find them dirty, confusing and, even worse, boring. I also don’t much enjoy working with my hands. I like...
Gumbo as Soul Craft
When I read “Shop Class As Soulcraft,” I initially felt like a twerp. I’m the guy who was raised in the country by a...
No Angel: Second Thoughts on Sarah Palin
East Lansing, MI. Mark Mitchell's brief essay on Sarah Palin reminded me of a Treasonous Clerk installment I wrote back in November, contemplating the...
In Praise of States (and Why There Should be More of...
Wichita, KS
Over the July 4th weekend, we made a quick trip south to Dallas, and were blessed with a brief look at that particular...