Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
The Mechanical Horse
The Mechanical Horse: How the Bicycle Reshaped American Life | Margaret Guroff
1 post | 1 read
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 countrys 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 dressesas well as their restricted gender rolesso they could ride. And doctors recognized that aerobic exercise actually benefits the body, which helped to modernize medicine. Margaret Guroff demonstrates that the bicycles story is really the story of a more mobile Americaone in which physical mobility has opened wider horizons of thought and new opportunities for people in all avenues of life.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
blurb
jgibsongda
post image

I met Margaret at the National Press Club Book Expo and had a charming conversation about our shared interest in bicycles. Bought her book and found it fascinating. Full of surprising cultural revelations surrounding the history of the two-wheeled wonder. Just a taste: don‘t you want to know how the eruption of the Pinatubo super volcano led to the invention of the bicycle?

RaimeyGallant Welcome to Litsy! #LitsyWelcomeWagon Some of us put together Litsy tips to help new Littens navigate the site. It's the link in my bio on my page in case you need it. Or if you prefer how-to videos, @chelleo put some together at the link in her bio. @LitsyWelcomeWagon 6y
Chelleo Welcome 6y
Eggs Welcome to Litsy 🎈👋🏻🎈 6y
See All 9 Comments
StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Welcome to Litsy 📖💙 6y
Lel2403 Welcome to Litsy 📖 6y
CoffeeNBooks Welcome to Litsy! 🎉 6y
Wife Welcome to Litsy!🌹 6y
CarolynM Welcome to Litsy 🌼 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Welcome to Litsy!! 6y
10 likes9 comments