A brilliant and defiant celebration of driving as a unique pathway of human freedom, by "one of the most influential thinkers of our time" (Sunday Times)"Why We Driveweaves philosophers, thinkers, and scientific research with shade-tree mechanics and racers to defend our right to independence, making the case that freedom of motion is essential to who we are as a species. ... We hope you'll read it."Road TrackOnce 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. In this insightful book on technology and society, are we destined to become passengers, not drivers?Why We Drivereveals that much more may be at stake than we might think.Ten years ago, in theNew York Times-bestsellingShop Class as Soulcraft,philosopher-mechanic Matthew B. Crawforda University of Chicago PhD who owned his own motorcycle shopmade a revolutionary case for manual labor, one that ran headlong against the pretentions of white-collar office work. Now, using the driving experience as a window through which to view the broader changes wrought by technology, Crawford investigates the drivers seat as one of the few remaining domains of human agency, exploration, playand freedom.Blending philosophy and hands-on storytelling, Crawford grounds the narrative in his own experience in the garage and behind the wheel, recounting his decade-long restoration of a vintage Volkswagen as well as his journeys to thriving automotive subcultures across the country.Crawford leads us on an irreverent but deeply considered inquiry into the power of faceless bureaucracies, the importance of questioning mindless rules, and the battle for democratic self-determination against the surveillance capitalists. A meditation on the competence of ordinary people,Why We Driveexplores the genius of our everyday practices on the road, the rewards of folk engineering, and the existential value of occasionally being scared shitless.Witty and ingenious throughout,Why We Driveis a rebellious and daring celebration of the irrepressible human spirit.This rebellious and daring celebration of the irrepressible human spirit is a deep inquiry into what were giving up in a world of automation:The Humanism of Driving: Go beyond transportation and view the drivers seat as one of the last domains of skill, exploration, and freedom in our increasingly administered lives.A Critique of Surveillance Capitalism: Investigate the self-driving future and the battle for self-determination against tech giants seeking to monetize our attention.Folk Engineering and Manual Skill: Grounded in the authors own decade-long restoration of a vintage Volkswagen, this is a profound case for the rewards of hands-on competence.Automotive Subcultures: Journey to demolition derbies, desert races, and other thriving communities to understand the irrepressible human spirit at play.
