Scan barcode
A review by ashrafulla
Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle by Jody Rosen
informative
reflective
fast-paced
2.0
This book could have had a good message about the winding story of the bicycle and how it has evolved with the times along with the cultures it evolved. Chapters about this message are there, such as the one on the variation of bicycle from luxury item to common item and back to luxury item.
However, the book is overshadowed by the hell-bent intent of the author to treat the bicycle as strictly a counterculture item, with at most a token chapter dedicated to the bicycle for it's use as a tool (the chapter on Dhaka). I forced myself to finish this book and do not recommend anyone else do that unless they are into highly sexualized nonfiction. This book spends more words on bikes used in pornography than on bikes used by farmers. That's clearly the intent: to associat the bike with whatever is the latest revolutionary movement.
As a result the book is nearly inaccessible to anyone other than activists. If you like bikes but don't really care about naked bike rides or the sensory feeling of a bumpy bike seat, then you will gain nearly nothing from this book. If you want to read a book that is fringe activism thinly veiled by a shallow history of bicycles, then read this book.
However, the book is overshadowed by the hell-bent intent of the author to treat the bicycle as strictly a counterculture item, with at most a token chapter dedicated to the bicycle for it's use as a tool (the chapter on Dhaka). I forced myself to finish this book and do not recommend anyone else do that unless they are into highly sexualized nonfiction. This book spends more words on bikes used in pornography than on bikes used by farmers. That's clearly the intent: to associat the bike with whatever is the latest revolutionary movement.
As a result the book is nearly inaccessible to anyone other than activists. If you like bikes but don't really care about naked bike rides or the sensory feeling of a bumpy bike seat, then you will gain nearly nothing from this book. If you want to read a book that is fringe activism thinly veiled by a shallow history of bicycles, then read this book.