Herlihy does a good job with what he has to work with. The subject matter of the book would make for a long article in Men's Journal or some such magazine. The author manages to stretch it to book length without the narrative feeling forced. There is no fault in the writing here, but perhaps best recommended for people interested in cycling or the period of history. A casual interest in the subject matter will leave the reader wanting more. A good "deep track" for the enthusiast. In the event I could not put it down. It was an interesting read about the history with some detailed accounting surrounding the cycling of the day. The metrics of the numbers of bicycles sold was hard to timeline. In general, a historical accounting that did not rouse me one way or the other, and in some manner was a ponderous loss at the end.Recommend it to randonneurs and Adventure Cyclists but as a historical work not as inspiring as "Miles from Nowhere"
3 1/2 stars. Amazing story of circumnavigation before the rise of the automobile.
—Erina
I was too busy, and something had to go, unfortunately it was this one.
—ramanath
*just reminder to self to check this out for Bennie at Christmas*
—Hemangi
An interesting story about the early days of bicycles.
—damara12
Really, 2 1/2.
—gia
