The Craftsman by Richard Sennett

Core77 has a review up of Richard Sennett’s book “The Craftsman,” which

is a conglomerate of case studies that explore the relationship of hand to mind, craftsmanship to Enlightenment. Herein, Sennett, a renown London-based sociologist with a zest for the human experience, argues that the most basic, fundamental ability we humans share is that of craft. When properly trained, this process functions as muscle memory, literally training the mind while working the hand. If its up to Sennett, all those hours spent learning how to throw clay pots, plane wood, and mix plaster for some toy-design/coffee-maker/mobile-phone project actually might just make you, the designer-cum-craftsman, a more enlightened person. From the computer screen to the workshop table, it’s the stuff we’ve known for years: think, make, share, and do it again. It’s what we wake up to do every morning, and what we dream about at night.

I know what’s on my summer reading list…