In this wise and often funny book, a philosopher/mechanic systematically destroys the pretensions of the high-prestige workplace and makes an irresistible case for working with one's hands.

Once drivers, the road alive with autonomy, possibility, danger, trust, and speed. Today people are as likely to be in the back seat of an Uber as behind the wheel themselves. Tech giants are hurling people toward a shiny, happy ‘self-driving’ future, selling utopia but equally keen to advertise to a captive audience entranced by another expensive device. Are they destined, then, to become passengers, not drivers? Considering congestion, traffic fatalities, and global warming, what is so great about driving anyway? It reveals that much more may be at stake than they might think. Ten years ago, in the New York Times-bestselling Shop Class as Soulcraft, philosopher-mechanic Matthew B. Crawford, a University of Chicago Ph.D. who owned his own motorcycle shop, made a revolutionary case for manual labor, one that ran headlong against the pretentions of white-collar office work.

From the author of the landmark "Shop Class as Soulcraft," a brilliant, first-of-its-kind celebration of driving as a unique pathway of human freedom, one now critically threatened by automation. Once we were drivers, the open road alive with autonomy, adventure, danger, trust, and speed. Today we are as likely to be in the back seat of an Uber as behind the wheel ourselves. Tech giants are hurling us toward a shiny, happy self-driving future, selling utopia but equally keen to advertise to a captive audience strapped into another expensive device. Are we destined, then, to become passengers, not drivers? "Why We Drive" reveals that much more may be at stake than we might think. Ten years ago, in the New York Times-bestselling "Shop Class as Soulcraft," philosopher-mechanic Matthew B. Crawford -- a University of Chicago PhD who owned his own motorcycle shop -- made a revolutionary case for manual labor, one that ran headlong against the pretensions of white-collar office work. Now, usi