A Craftsman’s Legacy: Why Working with Our Hands Gives Us Meaning

In this industrialized world where we are accustomed to identical machine-made products, the idea of obtaining handcrafted articles seems a bit arcane. Eric Georges, the host of TV’s A Craftsman’s Legacy, has assembled a collection of stories from his interviews with those rare iconoclasts who radiate the passion to seek perfection using their hands, mental skills, along with nature’s resources. The author relates how his love of metal shaping and working with motorcycles induced him to renounce his secure white-collar job and dirty his hands learning his current calling as a machinist. More than a dozen iconic subjects reveal their thoughts about their pursuit of excellence in their chosen craft and talk about the stimuli that initiated their passion for their line of work. In these stories, the reader meets up with potters, glassblowers, sword-makers, engravers, stone carvers, weavers, furniture makers, chocolate producers, and many others. Each individual relates the circumstances that determined each crafts-person’s direction, how they constantly endeavor to achieve perfection in their chosen art but realize that their urge to attain the ideal will continue to be an upward climb. Nonetheless, it is a joy to share in the stories of these Renaissance crafters working with their hands, heads, and hearts. It would be a nice addition if the finished book copy contained some pen and ink illustrations of some of these craft projects.