The Perfect Vehicle: What It Is About Motorcycles
Title | The Perfect Vehicle: What It Is About Motorcycles PDF eBook |
Author | Melissa Holbrook Pierson |
Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company |
Pages | 241 |
Release | 2011-01-12 |
Genre | Transportation |
ISBN | 0393078361 |
"This book, a polished, winding meditation on the theory and fractiousness of motorcycles, celebrates both their eccentric history and the wary pleasures of touring."—The New Yorker In a book that is "a must for anyone who has loved a motorcycle" (Oliver Sacks), Melissa Pierson captures in vivid, writerly prose the mysterious attractions of motorcycling. She sifts through myth and hyperbole: misrepresentations about danger, about the type of people who ride and why they do so. The Perfect Vehicle is not a mere recitation of facts, nor is it a polemic or apologia. Its vivid historical accounts-the beginnings of the machine, the often hidden tradition of women who ride, the tale of the defiant ones who taunt death on the racetrack-are intertwined with Pierson's own story, which, in itself, shows that although you may think you know what kind of person rides a motorcycle, you probably don't.
The Perfect Vehicle: What It Is About Motorcycles
Title | The Perfect Vehicle: What It Is About Motorcycles PDF eBook |
Author | Melissa Holbrook Pierson |
Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company |
Pages | 244 |
Release | 1998-05-17 |
Genre | Sports & Recreation |
ISBN | 9780393318098 |
The author discusses her ten-year love affair with motorcycles, providing historical and social accounts of motorcycles and motorcyclists in an attempt to provide insight into what drives people to ride.
The Man Who Would Stop at Nothing: Long-Distance Motorcycling's Endless Road
Title | The Man Who Would Stop at Nothing: Long-Distance Motorcycling's Endless Road PDF eBook |
Author | Melissa Holbrook Pierson |
Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company |
Pages | 204 |
Release | 2011-09-20 |
Genre | Biography & Autobiography |
ISBN | 039307904X |
Provides an insider's view of long-distance riding, explains what draws people to the challenges and solitude of the pastime, and highlights a middle-aged diabetic man who loves riding impossible distances.
She's a Bad Motorcycle
Title | She's a Bad Motorcycle PDF eBook |
Author | Geno Zanetti |
Publisher | Da Capo Press |
Pages | 292 |
Release | 2002-01-09 |
Genre | Transportation |
ISBN | 9781560253174 |
Why do people ride motorcycles? Thomas Krens, curator of The Art of the Motorcycle, the most popular exhibition ever mounted at the Guggenheim Museum, writes: "For much of society, the motorcycle remains a forbidden indulgence, an object of fantasy, and danger." And of envy. No other machine is thought of as the vehicle—"the perfect vehicle" Melissa Holbrook Pierson calls it—of rebellion, lawlessness, and freedom. She's A Bad Motorcycle collects the writings of those who have sought that freedom. From the genre-defining—and exploding—Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to Chasing Che the motorcycle has inspired a startlingly rich, unabashedly romantic body of writing that celebrates the risks and exhilaration of the journey to self-discovery. The book includes selections from Eric Burdon, Harry Crews, Harlan Ellison, Robert E. Fulton, Jr., Che Guevara, Fred Haefele, S.E. Hinton, Dennis Hopper, Richard La Plante, Erika Lopez, Horace McCoy, Allen Noren, Robert Pirsig, Gary Paulsen, Melissa Holbrook Pierson, Patrick Symmes, Keith Tye, Hunter S. Thompson, Lois Wilson, Daniel R. Wolf and Tom Wolfe, as well as photographs by Bruce Davidson, Martin Dixon, Ann Ferrar, Danny Lyon, Helge Pedersen, and Irving Penn.
How to Restore Your Motorcycle, Second Edition
Title | How to Restore Your Motorcycle, Second Edition PDF eBook |
Author | Mark Zimmerman |
Publisher | |
Pages | 194 |
Release | |
Genre | |
ISBN | 1610590317 |
Motorcycle
Title | Motorcycle PDF eBook |
Author | Steven E. Alford |
Publisher | Reaktion Books |
Pages | 244 |
Release | 2008-01-03 |
Genre | Transportation |
ISBN | 1861894759 |
Easy Rider. Motocross Grand Prix. James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. The motorcycle is a global icon of untamed freedom, symbolizing a daring and reckless lifestyle of adventure. Yet there are few books that chronicle how and when this legendary vehicle roared down the open road. Motorcycle explores the roots of the rebel’s ultimate ride. After early incarnations as a nineteenth-century steam-powered bicycle and multi-wheeled vehicles, the modern motorcycle came into its own as a cheap, mobile military asset during World War I. From there, it rapidly spread through modern culture as a symbol of rebellion and subversive power, and Motorcycle tracks the symbolic role that the bike has played in literature, art, and film. The authors also investigate the international subcultures that revolve around the motorcycle and scooter. They chart the emergence of American biker culture in the 1950s, when decommissioned fighter pilots sought new ways to satiate their desire for thrill and danger, and explore how the motorcycle came to represent the untamed nonconformity of the American West. In contrast, smaller scooters such as the Vespa and moped became the utilitarian vehicle of choice in space-starved metropolises across Europe and Asia. Ultimately, the authors argue, the motorbike is the exemplary Modernist object, dependent on the perfect balance of man and machine. An unprecedented and wholly engrossing account, Motorcycle is an essential reading for the Harley-Davidson roadhog, bike collector, or anyone who’s felt the power of the unmistakable king of the road.
The Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Guide to Motorcycling Excellence
Title | The Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Guide to Motorcycling Excellence PDF eBook |
Author | Motorcycle Safety Foundation |
Publisher | |
Pages | 180 |
Release | 1995 |
Genre | Education |
ISBN | 9781884313011 |
A guide to enhance your safety on motorcycle riding.