Handmade: Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction

Rambling between recollections of hiking trips and musings on craftsmanship, master woodworker Rogowski (Complete Illustrated Guide to Joinery) moves away from strictly informational texts to share his personal story and thoughts on craftsmanship. The advice and folksy wisdom he offers, much of which can be summed up as “practice” and “have patience,” rely too heavily on a hopeful artisan’s ability to follow the path the author trod nearly 50 years ago, perfecting his craft and surviving on scraps in a much different economy. With little by way of practical advice for a hopeful craftsperson, the book is steeped in nostalgia and reads like a meditative trip through the author’s memory and a love letter to traditional handcrafting as well as a lament on the lack of care put into modern manufacturing. Though the author may be an exemplary woodworker, his attempt at philosophical treatise misses the mark—or, as he puts it himself in a fable about a cobbler, “Don’t talk to him about spiritual matters; just let him teach you how to make shoes.” B&w photos. (Dec.)