Shop Class as Soulcraft 

An Inquiry into the Value of Work

By Matthew B. Crawford

In 2006, contributing editor Matthew B. Crawford wrote a popular New Atlantis essay called “Shop Class as Soulcraft.”

He has expanded that essay into a bestselling book, Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work, published in 2009 by Penguin.

• “A powerful case for the special value of skilled work that requires the use of one’s hands.” (Wall Street Journal)
   
• “A beautiful little book about human excellence and the way it is undervalued in contemporary America.” (Francis Fukuyama, New York Times)
   
• “The best self-help book I’ve ever read.” (Slate)
   
• This book “may upend your preconceptions about labor and, just maybe, cause you to rethink your career (or how you spend your weekends).” (Washington Post)
   
• “A masterpiece filled with surprises.” (Dallas Morning News)
    
• “An unusual and compelling book that seduces us to succumb to the passions that are dormant within us, begging for release.” (San Francisco Chronicle)
   
• “The sleeper hit of the publishing season.” (Boston Globe)
   
• “A vigorous defence of the figure of the tradesman... More grounded and more elegant than its fellow travellers in hipsterdom and pop culture.” (National Post, Canada)
    
• “A short and handy book, compelling and challenging.” (The Guardian, UK)
   
• “A superb combination of testimony and reflection.” (Harvey C. Mansfield, Harvard University)
   
• “A deep exploration of craftsmanship by someone with real, hands-on knowledge. The book is also quirky, surprising, and sometimes quite moving.” (Richard Sennett, author of The Craftsman)
   
• “Brave and indispensable.” (Jackson Lears, editor in chief, Raritan)

• C-SPAN
   
• The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
   
• All Things Considered (NPR)
   
• The NewsHour (PBS)
   
• The Diane Rehm Show (NPR)
   
• “Between the Covers” (National Review Online)
   
• Washington Post
   
• New York Times
   
• NPR affiliate KPLU
   
• Your Call (KALW)
   
• Popular Mechanics
   
• Minnesota Public Radio

• Essays responding to Shop Class as Soulcraft (Front Porch Republic)

•  Buy the book from Amazon: hardcover, paperback, Kindle, UK version.
   
• More New Atlantis essays by Matthew B. Crawford.
   
• Matthew B. Crawford’s homepage.