Handmade

Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction

By: Gary Rogowski

Narrated by: BJ Harrison

In an era when there are countless competing claims on one's attention, how does one find the internal focus to be creative? For master furniture craftsman Gary Rogowski, the answer is in the act of creative work itself. The discipline of working with one's hands to create unnecessarily beautiful things shapes the builder into a more complete human being.

In the tradition of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Shop Class as Soulcraft, Rogowski's Handmade is a profound meditation on the eternal value of manual work, creativity, human fallibility, and the stubborn pursuit of quality work. Rogowski tells his life story of how he became a craftsman and how years of persistent work have taught him patience, resilience, tolerance for failure, and a love of pursuing beauty and mastery for its own sake.

Part autobiography, part guide to creativity, and part guide to living, Handmade is an audiobook for craftspeople, artists, and anyone who seeks clarity, purpose, and creativity in his or her work - and it's the perfect antidote to a modern world that thinks human labor is obsolete.

©2017 Gary Rogowski (P)2019 Tantor

Get lost in the craft

Story after story of time spent getting lost in mastery and disciplined in the craft, reveal a great reminder that life takes time. Be patient in all things that you do, as any quick result, likely isn’t the best result. 

Way better than expected!

Heard it three (3) times back to back. Found it very insightful and educational. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Finally!

Finally a book that made who I am clear and described why I am so nit picky and probably hard to work with. I’m not a woodworker, I’m a welder but hold myself to just as high of a standard as a seasoned woodworker.

worth a read

The book has a meandering quality to it. Reminding me of something I'd write

Worth the listen! The author read, therefore he wrote.

Of all the woodworking and craft writers, and yes I’ve read them most, Rogowski is the most engaging. Just goes to show that lit majors, for all their self doubts, are always the most insightful, and language loving, always the most capable of critical thought, regardless of the after-path. Anyway, the book is fine, with interesting connections, all of a whole, and the narrator rises to the occasion of his craft too.

I admire the author as a woodworker

What is this book? I don’t think he made up his mind. As an autobiography, he was sketchy with the details. He seems to be advocating the blind squirrel methodology until the last few chapters. Gary is a talented writer who could probably make a decent living off his writing.

Awesome

This photo was so good that I think it’s probably one of the greatest books ever written. I think it’s even better than “Zen in the item motorcycle maintenance”. Every artist should read it. Every craftsman should read it. Every student should read it. I wish it had been written and I had read it when I was a hungry young mind. Now I’m a hungry old mind and just glad that I found it.
I sent a copy to an Art professor of mine from college. It actually sounded like him speaking to me.
Gary is a great writer and the book was much more interesting than Thoreau’s work. The reader is excellent and the experience was nostalgic and beautiful.

A life is more fulfilling by doing good work

A very approachable and pleasant performance of a half biography half philosophical manifesto, that digs into purposeful living, the chase of mastery and the introspection brought by both.

self aggrandizing

I don't know if it was the tone or the content, but the author fell far short of humble. Not a bad message, but not a great book.

tedious and indulgent

I expected more straight-forward prose, but the author took 45 minutes to retell mostly pointless anecdotes of College, with no hint of more appealing content further in the book. At no point in the first hour or so, did the author communicate his purpose, nor provide any useful insight. I do not wish to invest my time listening to an aimless, indulgent, meandering, and largely pointless hour of navel-gazing. The author is somewhat obsessed with his idea of "mastery", and is quite proud of his abilities. Writing and storytelling are not areas he should boast too heavily. Concerning the audio book performance, at first the reader's high pitched and unsure voice was distracting, but then I realized his voice was a perfect match for the book, so I do feel the need to mark the performance higher.

I am asking for a refund.