Though there has always been a healthy strain of DIY culture running through technologically dependent Western societies, the decade of the aughts has seen this strain gain a great deal of popularity and respect. Unlike 30 years ago, when virtually every piece of commercialized technology was designed to allow the purchaser to tinker with it, to make modifications to it, subsequent decades have seen a gradual and significant uptick in both the sophistication of the devices and the proprietary possessiveness with which their companies manufacture them. Gone are the days when coffeemakers and televisions were repairable by a skilled hand; now, everything must be returned to its maker, no doubt to be exchanged for another identical product while the defective is discarded. But while corporations may be making it harder to tinker, this hasn't detoured DIYers who now have an invaluable tool for exchanging ideas and spreading their culture that didn't exist 15 years ago, the Internet.
Possessed by the spirit of experimentation and the knowledge it yields, Mr. Frauenfelder sets out here to explore DIY from the inside. From how to raise chickens, to how to upgrade an Espresso machine to produce the perfect shot of coffee, he covers major trends in the overall movement while tapping into the knowledge base of many of its leading lights. The narrative strikes the right tone of conversational warmth, turning the reader into something of a tourist through Mr. Frauenfelder's life. From the glorious successes to the abject failures, he lays out all of his experiments which produce, regardless of their efficacy, at least the pleasure of knowing how a thing works.
Ignorance is dangerous. We are sliding towards a society in which ever-more complicated technologies are bought by people who depend upon them, to live, even to survive, without knowing the first thing about how they work. We don't fix our Iphones; we call a 1-800 number for that. Maybe that 1-800 number will always be available for us to rely on; maybe the knowledge of how something works isn't required. But what if that number isn't there? What if we do have to know how to fix something important and we only have our own ignorance to fall back on? Mr. Frauenfelder, here, is more than a little scattered, leaping from DIY field to DIY field with an exuberance bordering on ADHD, but the sheer amount of knowledge he acquires by keeping his mind open, by learning first-hand how to do everything from fertilizing his lawn to schooling his children, is admirable both in its utility and its expansiveness. A thought-provoking read. 3/5 Stars)
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