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Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
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Author:  Chris Pile [ Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:59 am ]
Post subject:  Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
http://tmm.chicagodistributioncenter.co ... 095387.jpg

I am several chapters into it right now. Just wondered if anyone else had read it.
Author:  WendyW [ Thu Oct 01, 2015 11:08 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
So what is your opinion so far?
Author:  JSDenvir [ Thu Oct 01, 2015 12:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
Guitar making viewed through a sociological lens. Some interesting bits, but a bit of a slog. I thought I'd left that academic writing behind years ago :-)

Steve
Author:  Alan Carruth [ Thu Oct 01, 2015 1:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
A lot of it seemed to me to be a hammer in search of a nail: trying to find anthropological explanations for things that could be understood much more simply. OTOH, she's certainly correct in her point that there are far too few women in the field. I didn't buy her explanation, but then mine might not be any better, and I'm pretty sure she would not buy it. It was nice to see that plenty of other makers have the same concerns that I do.
Author:  Chris Pile [ Thu Oct 01, 2015 2:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
Quote:
So what is your opinion so far?


I'll have to finish the book to see what conclusions she draws....
If I'd bothered to find out she was an anthropologist at Yale beforehand, I probably would have saved my money.
So far, it's not horribly boring. :roll:
Author:  bobgramann [ Thu Oct 01, 2015 3:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
I enjoyed the book quite a bit. It enlarged my view a bit of the makers' community and gave me some history that I didn't know. At times, I wondered if she was purposely caricaturing academic writing, but then I figured, no, that's just how academics write. I didn't get too attached to any of her conclusions, but overall found the book enjoyable and informative. For context, I try to read anything about guitarmaking that I can get my hands on. I've read several method books, but I don't do things exactly like the descriptions in any of those books.
Author:  Ruby50 [ Sat Oct 03, 2015 5:45 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
Alan

What IS your explanation on why there are so few women in this field. My daughter and another woman run a repair shop in Brooklyn and I am quite interested in this.

Ed
Author:  Alan Carruth [ Sat Oct 03, 2015 5:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
Ruby50 asked:
"What IS your explanation on why there are so few women in this field."

I think a lot of it is that, back in the '60s, the boys took wood shop and the girls took home ec. It would have been VERY difficult for a boy to get into the 'girls' class, or vice versa. Later on, when the guitar boom happened, the guys had a head start in knowing how to make them, and the girls had been told it was not something they could do.

I realize that's an extremely simplified answer in any number of ways. It does not, obviously, address the reasons behind the gender split in the first place, and those are certainly social: the boys were being trained to go out and work, and the girls were expected to stay home and take care of the family. It's also true that, even now, there seem to be far fewer women playing guitars than men, and there's even less reason for that than the disparity in makers. I'm not saying my version is any better than hers; but it does seem to cover the bases with fewer hypotheses. I'm still trying to figure out what 'male generativity' is.
Author:  Chris Pile [ Sat Oct 03, 2015 6:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
Just a guess on my part.... The ratio of female luthiers to male luthiers would be about the same for the ratio of female guitarists to male guitarists.... Now, if you really wanna start a crapstorm - let's talk about the ratio of brown and black players/ luthiers to white players/ luthiers.

AND, all that palaver will do nothing to explain the difference, nor make a difference. We are drawn to what we are drawn, and that's all.

I am almost done with the book, and when I have digested it - I will post a book review for your enjoyment.
Author:  Woodie G [ Thu Oct 08, 2015 12:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
I was given this to read by a local luthier, along with Clapton's Guitar and Shop Class as Soulcraft.

Summary: mehh...not something I would buy instead of extra cans of soup.
Author:  WendyW [ Thu Oct 08, 2015 12:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
I really don't want to have to buy the book just to find out what her reasoning is for why there are so few of us women in the field, but you have tweaked my curiosity. Anyone willing to share that info here?
Author:  Woodie G [ Thu Oct 08, 2015 1:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
How to answer? Let my cite the index entries:

Under Imperialism, we have: American exceptionalism and, haunting character of, narrative of anticonquest, nostalgia and, and social tense and.

Under Masculinity (which has seven page citations, itself), there is: brain functions and, generatively and, intersubjectivity and, manly flaws, tool and, underemployment and, whiteness and a cross reference to male initiation rites.

Under White Masculinity, just one page listing. Super-surprised.

Under Marx, Karl, just one page listing. Again, really, surprised.

No entries for female, woman, women, cis-gender, micro-aggression, assault weapon, culture of _____ (fill in blank), etc, but lots of entries for commodification, de-commodification, recommodification, anthropomorphism, Greenpeace, and Bruce Cockburn. Surprised and yet unsurprised.

Answer? Because white, male, commodified, flawed, tool-users take up too many lines in the world's index.
Author:  Chris Pile [ Thu Oct 08, 2015 4:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
I have completed the book. I told you I would give you a review - here it is: Save Your Money.

While it is nice to see the history of luthiery explored in an in-depth manner, it's nice to see people I've met in the business shown well-earned respect, and nice to be reminded of the community to which I belong. However, I do not need to have some eggheaded Yale professor make me feel like I've done repair and building for the last 35 years for the wrong reasons.

And, as a conservative non-hippy - I resent all the quotes from "Mother Jones" and "Whole Earth Catalog" - both publications which I despise (and their staff would probably despise me). I got tired of all the counter-cultural yak, and I really resented her barely touching archtop builders (she did give a nod to Monteleone), and totally ignoring solidbody builders.

She should have at least mentioned Paul Reed Smith, who turned a repair shop into a manufacturing powerhouse while arguably maintaining the fine artisanal qualities she claimed to be extolling. Her last chapter concerned the furor over the Lacey Act and CITES treaty which affects luthiers at gut level - and she couldn't seem to make up her mind whether we should submit to the gubmint for the good of nature, or rebel against Big Brother like all good artistes in order that we risk liberty for the sake of our art.

She really likes handmade flattops, and the folks who make them - but many of her conclusions are foggy at best, while some are completely wrongheaded. Maybe I shouldn't get riled up. Maybe she wrote it for other pointy headed academes to pore over, and discuss at parties like it was an important issue of the day. Maybe she never considered luthiers would read her book. I'm glad I did, but it didn't enrich my life very much.

Anyone else want it?
Author:  Michael Keller [ Thu Oct 08, 2015 4:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
Any one interested should go to amazon, type in the book name, and click on the book, and then read the three critical revues.
I think they are spot on.


michael keller
Author:  WendyW [ Thu Oct 08, 2015 5:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
Thanks Michael. Read all the reviews and will not waste my money or time.
Author:  SteveSmith [ Thu Oct 08, 2015 6:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
Chris Pile wrote:
I have completed the book. ... ...Anyone else want it?


No thanks Chris but do appreciate you taking one for the team (and taking time to write the review).
Author:  Chris Pile [ Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:20 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
Quote:
I really don't want to have to buy the book just to find out what her reasoning is for why there are so few of us women in the field, but you have tweaked my curiosity. Anyone willing to share that info here?


I read the darn thing, and I can't answer your question.
In a book about the history of luthiery, I don't understand why she had to constantly talk about being a lesbian, or mention her wife twice. It had nothing to do with the book. Guess she has unresolved issues. Her editor should have reined her in, and returned her focus to the subject at hand.
Author:  Alan Carruth [ Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
As I said, to me it was a hammer looking for a nail. The author, who is a nice person, happens to be a lesbian anthropologist who's family was devastated by the decline of the auto industry. She's looking for non-capitalist feminist anthropological explanations for things that probably could be dealt with much more simply.
Author:  bobgramann [ Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
She's doing what she wants do just as we are doing what we want to do. Out products aren't for everyone. Neither are hers. I enjoyed the book for what it was. She was meeting her goals, not mine.
Author:  Woodie G [ Sat Oct 10, 2015 7:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Anyone read this book? Guitar Makers
Mr. Graham is correct in asserting that the book is not for everyone, but with some focused editing, a second edition could be a far more appealing and useful work. Until that second edition appears, and as Mr. Keller noted above, the single-starred reviews on Amazon do a fine job of explaining why the unwarranted injection of race and gender into every chapter and nearly every page subtracts from - rather than adds to - the reading experience.
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