The Mind at Work

“Eloquent tribute to our working men and women. It knocked me out.” —Studs Terkel

“Uplifting… shows a rare capacity to weave together elements of autobiography with the role of class in American education.” —Houston Chronicle

“An excellent corrective to the limited way that many of us understand intelligence.” —Newsday

“Rose wants to redeem [physical work]…he succeeds mightily.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Clear. Compelling. A celebration of blue-collar laborers; a family memoir; a learned treatise about different kinds of intelligence.” —Steve Weinberg, member of the National Book Critics Circle, The Denver Post

“There’s no condescension, pity, or sappy moralizing. You can’t help but have an increased respect for the mental part of labor.” —The Miami Herald

“A groundbreaking study…Extraordinarily moving, never dogmatic. Rose’s book puts an important piece of the U.S.’s social puzzle in bold relief.” —Publishers Weekly

“This book is brilliant, exciting, and essential…” —Michael B. Katz, author of The Undeserving Poor

“Thanks to Mike Rose’s impressive eye, the accomplishments of these workers are now visible.” —Howard Gardner, author of Changing Minds

“Like Walt Whitman, Mike Rose celebrates the many forms that intelligence can take in a democracy.” —David Tyack, Vida Jacks Professor of Education, Stanford University, author of Seeking Common Ground

“My everyday encounters with waitresses, electricians and handymen have been magically enriched since I read The Mind at Work.” —Barbara Garson, author of All the Livelong Day: The Meaning and Demeaning of Routine Work