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Two Wheels Good
The History and Mystery of the Bicycle (Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Sports Book Awards 2023)
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Check link for latest rating. ( 1,361 ratings, 251 reviews)
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Two Wheels Good
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Description
A panoramic portrait of the nineteenth-century invention that is transforming our twenty-first-century world.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2023
'Full of delightful anecdotes and interviews and fascinating historical tales' Mail on Sunday
A panoramic portrait of the wondrous vehicle whose passenger is also its engine.
A toy, a tool, a liberator, or complete nuisance—the bicycle has been many things to many people over the decades, yet it endures as the most popular form of transport in the world. How has such a simple machine achieved so much?
Combining history, travelogue, and memoir, Jody Rosen reshapes our understanding of this ubiquitous vehicle from its invention in 1817 to its present-day renaissance as a 'green machine'. Readers meet unforgettable characters—women's suffragists who steered bikes to the barricades in the 1890s, a Bhutanese king who races mountain bikes in the Himalayas, astronauts who ride a floating bicycle in zero gravity.
By examining the bicycle's past and peering into its future, Two Wheels Good forms a joyful ode to an engineering marvel of global importance.
'Funny, precise, surprising' — Adam Gopnik
'Love for two-wheeled transport runs through every sentence' — Economist
'Wry, rich, deeply researched' — Patrick Radden Keefe
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Jody Rosen's Two Wheels Good is lauded for its vibrant history of the bicycle, blending memoir, travelogue, and historical narrative. Critics praise Rosen's engaging and enthusiastic approach, noting the book's breadth and detailed exploration of the bicycle's global impact over time. With humour and insight, it is described as a lively and comprehensive account, filled with delightful anecdotes that capture the reader's interest in both the bicycle's history and its wider cultural significance.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780099593591
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 17 August 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Vintage
Audience: General / adult, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 25.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 330g
Pages: 416
About the Author
Jody Rosen is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. His writing on culture, politics, transportation, and music has appeared in The New Yorker, Slate, New York, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications.
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