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Discusses the power of the bicycle to impact mobility, technology, urban space and everyday life

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9781592136131

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Furness has produced a remarkable book. It is at once a history of bicycling in (mostly) the US; a cultural analysis of the bicycle, the car, and auto-mobility; and a solid piece of advocacy for bicycle-friendly policies. This solidly researched book covers a remarkable amount of territory... [It] began as a PhD thesis, but reads like a bestseller. Even, perhaps especially, the endnotes are interesting. Summing Up: Highly Recommended. - Choice

Furness has produced a remarkable book. It is at once a history of bicycling in (mostly) the US; a cultural analysis of the bicycle, the car, and auto-mobility; and a solid piece of advocacy for bicycle-friendly policies. This solidly researched book covers a remarkable amount of territory... [It] began as a PhD thesis, but reads like a bestseller. Even, perhaps especially, the endnotes are interesting. Summing Up: Highly Recommended. - Choice [A] lively and accessible glimpse into an important and oft-overlooked piece of the transportation topography. [Furness] puts forward an intelligent (and clearly impassioned) picture of a safer, saner, and sounder approach to mobility in the form of the bicycle, arguing that its more widespread use is a key element in moving us forward sustainably...[T]his book brings our attention to an understudied and significant arena in the understanding of mobility and its possible futures. The copious and detailed (and fascinating) endnotes make it clear that this is a well researched work. Furness manages to pull in many weighty issues and handle them with respect, nuance, and gravity, while retaining an optimism uncharacteristic of similar sociological critiques of capitalism. His hope for the potential of bike culture to help us street clear of disaster is just one of the many reasons that this is a valuable and delightful read. - Contemporary Sociology

Furness has produced a remarkable book. It is at once a history of bicycling in (mostly) the US; a cultural analysis of the bicycle, the car, and auto-mobility; and a solid piece of advocacy for bicycle-friendly policies. This solidly researched book covers a remarkable amount of territory... [It] began as a PhD thesis, but reads like a bestseller. Even, perhaps especially, the endnotes are interesting. Summing Up: Highly Recommended. - Choice [A] lively and accessible glimpse into an important and oft-overlooked piece of the transportation topography. [Furness] puts forward an intelligent (and clearly impassioned) picture of a safer, saner, and sounder approach to mobility in the form of the bicycle, arguing that its more widespread use is a key element in moving us forward sustainably...[T]his book brings our attention to an understudied and significant arena in the understanding of mobility and its possible futures. The copious and detailed (and fascinating) endnotes make it clear that this is a well researched work. Furness manages to pull in many weighty issues and handle them with respect, nuance, and gravity, while retaining an optimism uncharacteristic of similar sociological critiques of capitalism. His hope for the potential of bike culture to help us street clear of disaster is just one of the many reasons that this is a valuable and delightful read. - Contemporary Sociology

Author Information

Zack Furness is an Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies at Columbia College Chicago and a member of the Bad Subjects collective. 

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