Americans have been searching for a guide out of the economic underworld into which they've descended (bringing the rest of us along). The candidates for escort and saviour have included Barack Obama, Fed chief Ben Bernanke, personal-finance guru Suze Orman, the state of Idaho (which has largely escaped the effects of the recession), the nation of China (which the US hopes will start sharing the burden of consumption) and, of course, Bono. Motorcycle repairman Matthew Crawford didn't make the list, at least not until late last month, when his book Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work became a surprise hit.
美國人一直在尋找一位領路人，帶領他們走出深陷的經濟地獄（並把美國之外的人一併帶上），這位護送者和救世主的候選人包括美國總統巴拉克•歐巴馬(Barack Obama)、美聯準主席班•柏南奇(Ben Bernanke)、個人理財大師蘇茜•歐曼(Suze Orman)、愛達荷州（該州在很大程度上避免了經濟衰退的影響）、中國（美國希望該國開始分擔消費的重任），當然，還有波諾(Bono)。摩托車修理工馬修•克勞福德(Matthew Crawford)沒能位列其中，至少在上月底之前沒有，但隨後，他的新書《塑造靈魂的手藝課：探索工作的價值》(Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work)出版，並意外大熱。