Customer Reviews

Hands at Work - Portraits and Profiles of People Who Work with Their Hands

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Iris Graville and Summer Moon's book turns something ordinary - hands -- into something most extraordinary. We all have hands and they enable us to do almost everything in our daily lives. They bend and curl and flex and carry things and caress and button shirts and hold children and lace shoes and make French toast and type emails and brush teeth and straighten beds and pull weeds and drive cars and drink coffee and strum guitars, ad infinitum, and most of us take them for granted. You won't anymore after reading and viewing this gorgeous book.

This book show us just how much we DO live in our hands, no matter if we're conscious of it or not, no matter what our jobs are, no matter how we earn a living, no matter even if we're working or not. Our hands always are! After reading this book, you'll have a new-found respect for people who work with their hands. Indeed, a new-found respect for hands, period! Highly recommended.

This is one of the most heartfelt books I've seen and read in a while. The craftspeople who are interviewed and photographed in this gorgeous book are a refreshing reminder that, in this age of information technology, there are still many people who believe in the intrinsic beauty of following their hearts through the work of their hands. The expression and grace caught by both the visuals of the photography, and the writing, which allows the singularity of each artisan's voice to be heard, offer a resounding positive note to the deep satisfaction of using one's hands to bring joy to one's self and to others, whether through ship-building, delivering babies, or creating culinary masterpieces. Evocative and sensual, this book is a great reminder of the creative power we carry deep within ourselves.

I received this book as a gift. After leafing through it, I immediately knew it would be a perfect package for people on my list who would appreciate this gorgeous book wrapped and under their trees. Scriver shows us stunning close-up views of working hands. Graville tells us intriguing stories of the stimulus behind the hands. I am fascinated by the motivations of those who find personal, physical and spiritual satisfaction in their work and then spend years perfecting their abilities. My gift recipients are among the many who work with their hands, even with what some would consider impossible odds. Like me, they will love this book.

Iris Graville, a sensitive writer who is passionate about people and their stories, and Summer Moon Scriver, a young photographer who makes her camera do amazing things, have brought forth a treasure in Hands at Work. Graville's keenly observed profiles reveal to us how her subjects feel about the work they do, and about using their hands as tools. Some of the hands in Scriver's luminous photos are dirty, wounded, misshapen. Some are wrinkled and veined. All are strong, and their strength is their beauty. They're hands that make things. They're hands that feed us, clothe us, and heal us, that keep our cars, our bodies, and our lives running smoothly. This book honors working hands for the sacrifices they make as the contact points between the loving, creative human heart and the outside world.