Reading a new book.....

[Jonas Smith]

I picked up Shop Class as Soulcraft in the airport. I'm just past the introduction. So far, it fits right in with most of our philosophy on work around here.

[Gordon Maney]

It is very good. An interesting read, and the author is an interesting person, don't you think?

[Bob Thompson]

I thought it was a very interesting book. Mathew is a fellow knuckle banger.

[Jonas Smith]

So far so good. I have to admit it is a bit heady for me. I find myself going back and re-reading parts in order to make sure I understand what he's saying.

[Chewie]

I picked it up a while back, but I haven't started it yet. Still perusing a book by Mario Salvadori about basic architecture. That's a good one, too.

[Chris Olson]

I have read this book as well... I really enjoyed it. I feel privileged that I was able to have a full program of shop classes (metal and wood) and auto shop in high school.

[Kevin Mienke]

Thanks for turning me onto this book. Momma, bless her heart, found a paperback copy for me yesterday and I love it. I can't remember when I last enjoyed a book so much.

An excerpt that I particularly love is found on page 84. When describing one of his mentors, the author writes: "His orange bus, with wheel wells cut away to accommodate large off-road tires in the back, was a chaotic treasure trove of superb American handguns, Snap-on tools, and VW parts. The darkness behind the cab carried a sharp note of Berryman's B-12 Chemtool on top of a more subtle smell that is generic to mechanics...a mixed-up aroma of various petroleum distillates that had been oxidized by combustion, thickened with road grime, and ripened on a substrate of shop rags to the point of acquiring substance. He kept a large tank of CO2 in his bus for running an air impact wrench, indispensable for swapping out the transaxle on a race car in the desert."

It is rare to find a book that I can connect to my own world. Thanks again Jonas.

[NNICKB]

I read this book twice when it came out, and posted something about it on this forum, somewhere. Wish I knew what happened to my copy. I'd like to read it again.