Creating Mr. Kortan

Book excerpt: More than a memoir of a custom cafe racer build this book is a tribute to a teacher who inspired young people to be creative with their minds and capable with their hands. Growing up in Fargo, North Dakota in the 1970s and 80s, The Urban Monk had the opportunity to develop a love for machines, metal working and motorcycles. This book provides a glimpse into what life was like for the author and his young friends in Fargo during that time. It is also a poignant defense of industrial arts education in public schools. After an over three year effort building a custom cafe racer in his spare time and documenting the entire process in videos shared with the world on his YouTube channel Urban Monk TV, the author tells the story of how this project became more than a custom motorcycle build - it became a tribute to his middle school Metal Shop teacher who inspired him to go on to a life time of peaceful meditation in his garage with a wrench in his hand. Anyone interested in motorcycles, mechanics, do-it-yourself projects or a historical retrospective of life in 70s-80s Fargo will enjoy this pleasant read.