Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work (Crawford, M.; 2009) [Book Reviews]

The author is a philosopher/motorcycle mechanic who has applied his academic skills to describe his life's passion. Growing up, Crawford worked in a car shop and as an apprentice electrician, developing a fondness for working with his hands. When his Ph.D in political philosophy steered him toward a job he hated at a "think-tank," he returned to the trades and now owns and operates an independent motorcycle repair shop. The author's main premise is that "work is meaningful because it is genuinely useful" Rather than developing vague notions of self-esteem from peer interactions, physical labor provides a strong sense of accomplishment. Crawford also argues that "teamwork has made it diffi cult to trace individual responsibilities." By moving away from the apprentice/master model, individuals develop less of a sense of their own personal worth. While Crawford makes a strong point that it is unfair for workers and bad for society to devalue skilled manual labor, his argument is undercut by his reverence for the blatantly anti-woman aspects of these workplaces. The trades need to recognize that the low representation of women is a problem for both women and men. If the trades want to bolster their numbers and foster a positive community, they need to appeal to women.