The Wheelwright's Shop (Canto original series) [Paperback]

George Stuart (Author), E. P. Thompson (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 26, 1993 | ISBN-10: 0521447720 | ISBN-13: 978-0521447720

George Sturt's frank and moving account of his trade as a wheelwright in the late nineteenth century offers a unique glimpse into the working lives of craftsmen in a world since banished by technology. The wheelwright's shop where he entered business had been operating for two centuries; this chronicle, first published in 1923, is a poignant record of that tradition, written as it was passing into history. E. P. Thompson's new foreword acclaims the significance of Sturt's engaging narrative as a vital document in the history of labour at the turn of the century. '... a classic ... Mr Sturt's masterpiece. A delightfully urbane and informing book, full of valuable material for the social historian and a sheer pleasure to read.' New Statesman 'It shows in the author a combination of the gifts of a handicraftsman, the actual maker of things, with the powers of a writer, in a way not common in English literature.' The Times Literary Supplement

Editorial Reviews

Review

'... a classic ... Mr Sturt's masterpiece. A delightfully urbane and informing book, full of valuable material for the social historian and a sheer pleasure to read.' New Statesman

'It shows in the author a combination of the gifts of a handicraftsman, the actual maker of things, with the powers of a writer, in a way not common in English literature.' The Times Literary Supplement

Book Description

George Sturt's frank and moving account of his trade as a wheelwright in the late nineteenth century offers a unique glimpse into the working lives of craftsmen in a world since banished by technology.

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (March 26, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521447720
• ISBN-13: 978-0521447720
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,206,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This is an abriged edition, May 10, 2008

By 

M. Wiedmer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wheelwright's Shop (Paperback)

George Sturt's original work provided an unparalleled glimpse into the work, lives, and social environment of craftsmen at the end of the transition from the English craft to the modern industrial economy. The edition offered here is an abridged version of the original; retaining most of the how-to elements, but excluding the insights into the lives and characters of the craftsmen working in the Wheelwright's Shop. If all that interests you are how wagon wheels where constructed, the abridged version will suffice. If you want to understand the revolutionary transition from the craft tradition to the era of unskilled industrial mass production, then continue searching for Sturt's complete text.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Old Way is the Good Way, August 8, 2002

By 

Rod White (Springdale, AR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wheelwright's Shop (Canto original series) (Paperback)

If you wanted to sit down with a wheelwright from a couple hundred years ago and keep your mouth shut and listen to every bit of wisdom he had to impart ... that's what this book is about. Read (listen) to non-rocket science about what makes a wheel work and how to either make or not make dumb mistakes.
Valuable information about general wood working that applies not only to wheels.
Or if you're a history buff, how wooden wheels once fit into everyday life.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Amazon FOUL - I paid $40 for an abridged, shortened version ?!?!, August 18, 2009

By 

Travisji Corcoran "anarcho-capitalist" (Arlington, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Wheelwright's Shop (Craftsman) (Hardcover)

I quite enjoyed this, until, after reading it, I went online and searched for more information ... and found the complete book, scanned in ... and realized that I had been sold an abridged version, that left out half of the content!

I don't mind spending $40 for a book...but I really dislike getting an overly slim volume, and NOWHERE being told ahead of time that it's had material missing. Shame on Amazon and shame on Obscure Press.