Publishers Weekly
01/21/2019
Metalworker Gorges, who has profiled artisans of all stripes as host of the PBS series A Craftsman’s Legacy, revisits some of his favorite interviews in this invigorating survey. He highlights woodworkers, blacksmiths, and even a maker of high-end blue jeans to learn about their approaches to and appreciation for their crafts. Without resorting to banal platitudes, Gorges weaves the various stories together to explore the philosophical aspects of working with one’s hands. In discussing his own experiences as an artisan, Gorges illustrates the therapeutic qualities of craftsmanship: finding solace in the rhythmic thrum of a potter’s wheel to ease the pain of his mother’s recent death, and how working in his garage offered him safe harbor from debilitating panic attacks. Digressions on the very real dangers of many of these jobs, the challenge of determining price, and the often circuitous path many artisans take before finding their place (as well as the role of failure in that path), satisfyingly round out the book. This is an impressive and emotionally rich appreciation of the work often taken for granted. Agent: Alison Fargis, Stonesong. (May)
From the Publisher
This is a book full of cool stuff and the people who do it . . . Like the kindred-spirit book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Gorges' narrative serves up the lessons that one learns from hard, deliberate, artful work . . . a fine read for DIYers looking to up their game—or get their hands callused in the first place.” —Kirkus Reviews “Invigorating . . . Digressions on the very real dangers of many of these jobs, the challenge of determining price, and the often circuitous path many artisans take before finding their place (as well as the role of failure in that path), satisfyingly round out the book. This is an impressive and emotionally rich appreciation of the work often taken for granted.” —Publishers Weekly
“It’s a serious tome that deals with the significance of work and with principles like honesty, integrity, and purpose, which oddly mirror the world of business. There is indeed much to ponder.”
—Booklist “A congenial and thoughtful host, Eric Gorges takes us on a guided tour of a rare species—resourceful individuals who buck the herd to build purposeful lives through self-employment at skilled crafts and trades.” —Peter Korn, author of Why We Make Things and Why It Matters
Library Journal - Audio
08/01/2019
Both this book and the PBS show of the same name, which is hosted by Gorges, are love letters to people who make things with their hands. Gorges visits some of his favorite makers, including a glass blower, a calligrapher, potters, a stone carver, and an engraver, as well as sharing his own work as a metalcrafter. His enthusiasm for handmade work is palpable though at times it's expressed in clichés. While he shows great respect and affection for the work of these makers, the book is most engaging when Gorges talks about his own journey into customizing motorcycles and the metalworking apprenticeship that lead to his own shop and television show. The author narrates; his years of experience as a TV host stand him in good stead. VERDICT Imperfect but enjoyable, this pleasant escape might just inspire listeners to try a new craft. Recommended for creatives of all types, fans of the show, and anyone who likes working with their hands.—Tristan Boyd, Austin, TX
Kirkus Reviews
2019-03-03
"I wanted to be the driver of my own life." Metalworker/mechanic/TV host Gorges writes about the pleasures of—and lessons from—working with one's hands.
Handwork is challenging, and, as the author writes by way of an affable if admonitory opening, sometimes it involves pain: "My hands bleed all the time," he writes, "their skin is rough and cracked like a dirt road, and there's a gnarly scar across my right index knuckle." Yet, he reflects, such disfigurements are really badges of honor, pointing to the things that one learns through artisanal work that calls on the practitioner to step away from the "larger churning machine" that wants to chew us up and instead do cool stuff. This is a book full of cool stuff and the people who do it, from making swords—swordsmiths are "our last line of defense from this craft being completely lost to history"—to rebuilding vintage motorcycles and carving gargoyles for cathedrals. Gorges, who hosts a TV show of the same title as the book, also notes that doing such pursuits can take passion to levels of mania, with no such thing as time off, no social or family life, and no chance of ever winning that "never-ending struggle to find that work-life balance." Nevertheless, like the kindred-spirit book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Gorges' narrative serves up the lessons that one learns from hard, deliberate, artful work, including persistence, planning, gumption, stick-to-itiveness, and focus—about which he writes memorably, "some of the frame has to be blurry in order to sharpen the object you're shooting," which goes a long way to explaining that whole work-life balance thing.
A friendly, pleasant manifesto; without the philosophical depth of Matthew Crawford's Shop Class as Soulcraft, but still a fine read for DIYers looking to up their game—or get their hands callused in the first place.
