Book Portfolio: The Art of the Lathe

In The Art of the Lathe by B. H. Fairchild, the author, B. H. Fairchild shows how life was during the 1950's and 1960's when he worked with his father in a machine shop and that throughout time the only thing that has really changed is technology. He also talks about the first baseball game that Mickey Mantle played.

The main theme in this book would probably have to be how life was during the 50's and 60's. B. H. Fairchild shows this by talking about how most men at that time could not say "beauty" because it was considered rather feminine at the time. He also talks about how the other guys in the machine shop would interact with each other and how they would do work in the shop. The significance of the theme is that basically the only thing that has really changed throughout time is technology.

Probably the most historical event that happened in this book is that he and a bunch of other guys that worked in his father's machine shop got to witness firsthand the first game that Mickey Mantle played. They got to witness this by playing in the baseball game. The significance is that later on, Mickey Mantle ended up being a famous baseball player.

Personally I think that the author's, B. H. Fairchild's, main theme about life in the 50's and 60's is accurate because it basically states that things have not changed much since then except the technology. That people in general are the same and that people to this day have trouble excepting certain things (like in the book for the guys it was the word "beauty").

So, in general, it is true that the only thing that has really changed throughout time is technology because to this day we still have insecurities about certain things and that considering this theme generally shows us that we, as a people have changed yet at the same time we haven't over roughly 50 years.