The Craftsman, Richard Sennett
The Craftsman, Richard Sennett
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The Craftsman

Author: Richard Sennett

Narrator: Sean Runnette

Unabridged: 11 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/27/2018


Synopsis

The Craftsman explores the relation between the hand and the head. Richard Sennett argues that working with physical things stimulates people to think.

Craftsmanship, says Sennett, names the basic human impulse to do a job well for its own sake, and good craftsmanship involves developing skills and focusing on the work rather than ourselves. The computer programmer, the doctor, the artist, and even the parent and citizen all engage in a craftsman's work. In this thought-provoking book, Sennett explores the work of craftsmen past and present, identifies deep connections between material consciousness and ethical values, and challenges received ideas about what constitutes good work in today's world.

The Craftsman engages the many dimensions of skill—from the technical demands to the obsessive energy required to do good work. Craftsmanship leads Sennett across time and space, from ancient Roman brickmakers to Renaissance goldsmiths to the printing presses of Enlightenment Paris and the factories of industrial London; in the modern world he explores what experiences of good work are shared by computer programmers, nurses and doctors, musicians, glassblowers, and cooks. Unique in the scope of his thinking, Sennett expands previous notions of crafts and craftsmen and apprises us of the surprising extent to which we can learn about ourselves through the labor of making physical things.

About Richard Sennett

Richard Sennett is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University. He lives in London and New York City.


Reviews

Goodreads review by ☘Misericordia☘ on December 31, 2020

Q: Craftsmanship names an enduring, basic human impulse, the desire to do a job well for its own sake. (c) Q: motivation matters more than talent, and for a particular reason. The craftsman's desire for quality poses a motivational danger: the obsession with getting things perfectly right may deform th......more

Goodreads review by Jeffrey on January 18, 2009

First of all, it is exceedingly unfair to write a short, impressionistic review for a book that is meant to be the first of a three volume critique and analysis on material culture intended by Richard Sennett. But being one of the rare books out there--and I can remember only Donald Schon's 'The Ref......more

Goodreads review by Janie on June 23, 2008

So happy to find a book that articulates the layered significance of the craftsman throughout history, and the many ways an individual crafts work in his daily life. Intelligently written and more far-reaching than I'd imagined, encompassing economics, cultural history, and corporate politics into i......more

Goodreads review by Paula on March 16, 2025

not to be dramatic pero este libro me ha ayudado a ordenar un montón de ideas inconexas que tenía en mi cabeza. Era exactamente lo que necesitaba leer ahora y me ha inspirado un montón <333 Habla de la artesanía extendiendo esta idea a todo tipo de prácticas (Entendiendo artesanía como el proceso le......more

Goodreads review by Nelson on April 22, 2017

This is a masterpiece work on the philosophy of craft education. Sennett goes beyond current knowledge on creativity, art, play, education value and tacit knowledge. This book is a manifesto, full of knowledge, pragmatic knowledge here theorised for the first time. You can find a longer review on my......more