In the twenty-first century we have all experienced new technologies that promise to change our lives. During the nineteenth century, the bicycle evoked an exciting new world in which even a poor person could travel afar and at will. But was the "mechanical horse" truly destined to usher in a new era of road travel or would it remain merely a plaything for dandies and schoolboys? In this, the definitive history of the bicycle, David Herlihy recounts the saga of this far-reaching invention and the passions it aroused. The ...
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In the twenty-first century we have all experienced new technologies that promise to change our lives. During the nineteenth century, the bicycle evoked an exciting new world in which even a poor person could travel afar and at will. But was the "mechanical horse" truly destined to usher in a new era of road travel or would it remain merely a plaything for dandies and schoolboys? In this, the definitive history of the bicycle, David Herlihy recounts the saga of this far-reaching invention and the passions it aroused. The pioneer racer James Moore insisted the bicycle would become "as common as umbrellas". Mark Twain was more skeptical, enjoining his readers to "get a bicycle. You will not regret it - if you live." Because we live in an age of cross-country bicycle racing and high-tech mountain bikes, we may overlook the decades of development and ingenuity that transformed the basic concept of human-powered transportation into a marvel of engineering. This lively and engrossing history retraces the extraordinary story of the bicycle, a history of disputed patents, brilliant inventions, and missed opportunities. Herlihy shows us why the bicycle captured the public's imagination and the myriad ways in which it reshaped our world.
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Add this copy of Bicycle: the History to cart. $4.59, good condition, Sold by newlegacybooks rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Annandale, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 2004 by Yale University Press.
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Near fine in good jacket. Illustrated in color. 470pp. Tall 8vo, boards, d.w. New Haven: Yale University Press, (2004). A fine copy in a good dust wrapper--rear flap torn off but present.
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The author focuses strongly on the early development of the bicycle and has obviously engaged in an enormous amount of detailed research with result his conclusions regarding who was responsible for the machines which lead to the modern bicycle are different from what is usually put forward in Bicycle Histories.
I would say Herlihy's writing is not very lively, but for anyone genuinely interested in bicycle history, the stories and information related are very engaging.
Sadly the footnotes were relagated to the back of the book making them cumbersome to refer to.
The book itself is exquisitely presented, quality paper and binding, top class photography (though I had the impression from the text more were originally intended to be included).
