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Summary
Summary
With cities across the country adding miles of bike lanes and building bike-share stations, bicycling is enjoying a new surge of popularity in America. It seems that every generation or two, Americans rediscover the freedom of movement, convenience, and relative affordability of the bicycle. The earliest two-wheeler, the draisine, arrived in Philadelphia in 1819 and astonished onlookers with the possibility of propelling themselves "like lightning." Two centuries later, the bicycle is still the fastest way to cover ground on gridlocked city streets.
Filled with lively stories, The Mechanical Horse reveals how the bicycle transformed American life. As bicycling caught on in the nineteenth century, many of the country's rough, rutted roads were paved for the first time, laying a foundation for the interstate highway system. Cyclists were among the first to see the possibilities of self-directed, long-distance travel, and some of them (including a fellow named Henry Ford) went on to develop the automobile. Women shed their cumbersome Victorian dresses--as well as their restricted gender roles--so they could ride. And doctors recognized that aerobic exercise actually benefits the body, which helped to modernize medicine. Margaret Guroff demonstrates that the bicycle's story is really the story of a more mobile America--one in which physical mobility has opened wider horizons of thought and new opportunities for people in all avenues of life.
Author Notes
Margaret Guroff is a magazine editor. She is also the editor and publisher of Power Moby-Dick, an online annotation of Herman Melville's classic novel. She teaches writing at the Johns Hopkins University.
Reviews (3)
Kirkus Review
Two hundred years of the bicycle in America. In her sprightly debut history, Guroff (Writing/Johns Hopkins Univ.), executive editor of AARP The Magazine, traces America's "on-again, off-again romance" with the bicycle, from its 1819 iteration as the draisine to the current vogue in urban bike-sharing stations. Invented in Germany by Karl von Drais, the draisine was a two-wheeled vehicle with no pedals. A rider "straddled the saddle, gripped the tiller, and propelled the draisine like a scooter," pushing off the ground and allowing it to coast. Unwieldy and heavy, the draisine quickly lost appeal. Some 50 years later, though, the pedal-cranked velocipede became a national obsession. "Nationwide," writes the author, "carriage makers were churning out bicycles at a rate of a thousand a week, which reportedly filled only one-tenth of the orders being placed for them." But this fad fizzled because they could only be ridden comfortably on indoor rinks; roads were so rutted that bicycles earned the epithet "boneshakers." After pneumatic tires and lighter weight made the machines easier to ride, cyclists created cinder- or gravel-covered paths, many of which later were paved over for cars. Still, interest waned in the 1890s but was spurred when magazines created a voracious consumer culture. Once marketed and bought by men, bicycles became coveted by women, who saw in them potential for liberation, including liberation from corsets and floor-length skirts. Beginning in the 1910s, suburban children were identified by bicycle manufacturers as a rich new market. A boy with a bicycle, touted one ad, "will be the king of the neighborhood." Guroff makes a solid case for the bicycle as transformative in times of war (it was useful during World War I, for example, as "unobtrusive, gasoline- and forage-free transport"), and she maintains that bicycles inspired the Wright brothers in their airplane design. A bright, enthusiastic cultural history. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Choice Review
Guroff (writing, Johns Hopkins Univ.) examines the socioeconomic and cultural history of bicycling. Her discourse begins with the early-19th-century draisine, men-only cycling clubs, the turn-of-the-century popularity of "safety" bicycles with women's rights groups, the contemporary "fat" bicycles, and e-bicycles and sharing stations for the urban masses. Guroff surveys the surprisingly dynamic trends of bicycle popularity through multiple lenses, including health and exercise, fashion and marketing, economics and environment, and military and guerilla warfare. Guroff's transitional statements are occasionally abrupt, such as prefacing the increasingly youthful ridership of the early 20th century with an example of P. T. Barnum's 1883 arrest for permitting children cyclist circus acts. Overall, the themes and topics are logically arranged and covered in appropriate breadth. Given its emphasis on sociocultural themes, this title is a worthy stand-alone addition or a strong companion to other recent titles: James Longhurst's legal and historically based Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road (CH, Oct'15, 53-0954), or R. K. Keating's technical Wheel Man: Robert M. Keating, Pioneer of Bicycles, Motorcycles and Automobiles (CH, May'15, 52-4854). Guroff's work is recommended for all readership levels and all libraries; it is thoroughly researched, and has an engaging narrative and copious notes. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --Kyle D. Winward, Central College
Library Journal Review
In her first book, writer and editor Guroff richly details the adoption, development, and significant cultural influence of the bicycle since its first U.S. appearance during the 19th century. The power of her work is not in covering new historical ground but in pulling together all of the vast contributions that the bicycle imparted to everyday American life in one volume. The author explains how the bicycle and biking activity played significant roles in fostering technological advancements (such as those by the Wright brothers), equalizing sociocultural riffs by liberating women in terms of fashion and their position in society, giving rise to a consumerism mentality, cultivating the importance of cardiovascular activity, helping create a paved road system, and developing a sense of environmentalism. She concludes with a chapter on the status of the vehicle in today's culture. Included are black-and-white photos, a helpful list of abbreviations, detailed notes, and an excellent bibliography. VERDICT Guroff's fluid and lively writing imparts knowledge without sounding dry or pretentious. A worthy addition to sport and sport history collections.-John N. Jax, Univ. of Wisconsin Lib., La Crosse © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| 1 The Birth of the Bike | p. 5 |
| 2 The Need for Speed | p. 17 |
| 3 The Wheel, the Woman, and the Human Body | p. 33 |
| 4 Paving the Way for Cars | p. 51 |
| 5 From Producers to Consumers | p. 65 |
| 6 The Infinite Highway of the Air | p. 77 |
| 7 The Cycles of War | p. 89 |
| 8 The King of the Neighborhood | p. 111 |
| 9 The Great American Bicycle Boom | p. 125 |
| 10 Bike Messengers, Tourists, and Mountain Bikers | p. 139 |
| 11 Are We There Yet? | p. 157 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 167 |
| Abbreviations | p. 169 |
| Notes | p. 173 |
| Bibliography | p. 239 |
| Index | p. 281 |