Bicycle: The History

David V. Herlihy

Yale University Press, 2004 - History - 470 pages

In the twenty-first century we have all experienced new technologies that promise to change our lives. During the nineteenth century, the bicycle evoked an exciting new world in which even a poor person could travel afar and at will. But was the “mechanical horse” truly destined to usher in a new era of road travel or would it remain merely a plaything for dandies and schoolboys?

In this, the definitive history of the bicycle, David Herlihy recounts the saga of this far-reaching invention and the passions it aroused. The pioneer racer James Moore insisted the bicycle would become “as common as umbrellas.” Mark Twain was more skeptical, enjoining his readers to “get a bicycle. You will not regret it—if you live.”

Because we live in an age of cross-country bicycle racing and high-tech mountain bikes, we may overlook the decades of development and ingenuity that transformed the basic concept of human-powered transportation into a marvel of engineering. This lively and engrossing history retraces the extraordinary story of the bicycle—a history of disputed patents, brilliant inventions, and missed opportunities. Herlihy shows us why the bicycle captured the public’s imagination and the myriad ways in which it reshaped our world.

What people are saying

Review: Bicycle: The History

User Review - Goodreads

Belongs on the shelf as art and a reference , the historical first part being full of detail. Best kept with "A social history of the bicycle"

Review: Bicycle: The History

User Review  - Mary - Goodreads

Who knew some guy named James Moore won the first race in the precurser to (would later become) Le Tour!?!

About the author

David V. Herlihy is a historian and freelance writer. He has been interested in bicycle technology since his days as a member of the Harvard Cycling Club, and for the past decade he has researched extensively the invention and early development of the bicycle. His work has been featured on National Public Radio and Voice of America and in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, and Historic Preservation. In 1999 Herlihy received the McNair History Award from the Wheelmen, the preeminent American association of antique bicycle collectors. He lives in Hull, Massachusetts.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Bicycle: The History
• Author: David V. Herlihy
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Yale University Press, 2004
• ISBN: 0300104189, 9780300104189
• Length: 470 pages
• Subjects: History / General