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Born to Be Wild: A History of the American Biker and Bikes 1947-2002 |
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Born to Be Wild: A History of the American Biker and Bikes 1947-2002
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by Paul Garson and Editors of Easyriders
Sales Rank: 534711
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$1.45
At Amazon
on 6-20-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Hard Cover with 320 pages
Published by: Simon & Schuster March 25, 2003
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0743225236
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0743225236
Book Dimensions:
9.4 x 6.4 x 1 inches
Weighs: 1.4 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
This is a breezy look at the mystique as well as the myths surrounding the love affair between motorcycle enthusiasts and their machines, and its publication is perfectly timed to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the Harley-Davidson company. As the premier American cycle, the Harley and its various permutations grab a sizable amount of the book's pages, and the book provides an great short history of the most storied of motorcycles. But the authors are not uncritical of the company's ups and downs-they mention the company's poor quality during the 1970s. The author's real subject is much grander than just a history of technological developments: they want to capture how "the concept of the motorcycle outlaw was as uniquely American as jazz." Decade by decade, the book details the "evolving history" of the cycle, from "cut-down to bobber to custom chopper," at the same time as it connects cycle culture to mass culture, from Brando's movie The Wild One (Brando rode a Triumph) and the history of the leather biker jacket to an great critical look at current helmet laws. Readers not familiar with the rough-and-ready style of the popular Easyriders motorcycle magazine may bristle at the authors' unbridled love of the wild side of biking when there were "no multimillion-dollar R&D facilities required, no patents, no DMV rule books, no smog certificates, and no limits." But there is no doubting this is an essential new classic in the field of books on motorcycle culture in general.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
A salient feature of this wide-ranging appreciation of motorcycles and their lifestyle is the breezy, informal writing of the flagship journal of chopper piloting, Easy riders. Garson and the other Easyriders editors comprehensively trace the cycle's development, paying respects to foreign manufacturers while maintaining focus where it belongs, on Harley-Davidson and its many satisfied customers. In boxed sidebars, they present life-on-the-road vignettes, and they scatter lots of illustrations throughout. Indeed, the pictures of vintage bikes and striking custom jobs are worth the price of the book--but don't overlook the pictures and stories of noteworthy bike passengers. Sadly, more revealing pictures of distaff scooter lovers, oft seen and loved in issues of Easyriders and other cycle mags, are absent here. Detailed but far from bogged down by it, this is an great resource for hog-ridin' fools and those who love them. If it circulates enough, consider a library subscription to its source and, perhaps, some videos of the great annual biker rally at Sturgis, South Dakota. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Reader Reviews
I got this book hoping there would be an unbiased yet informed history of the culture behind the bike and the bikers from an American perspective. What you get is an author who is a piece writer for "Easy Riders Magazine" trying to be that informed historian of the biker culture. His endless use of the word "Bro" to refer to the real biker is out of place in todays vocabulary, and doesn't fit in in this book. His obvious use of some website that encapsulates the year to year history of Americana thrown in to give perspective of the art, music, and economics of the subject year is BORING and again out of place. As you read the book, you will find yourself saying "Where's the beef". You are always hoping to get to the good stuff. I thought their may be something about the strategic wars and some inner sanctum insight from the bike manufacturers. Nope. Instead you get what amounts to a magazine article spread over way to many pages. There is nothing substantial on Indian, or Excelsior Henderson, or any of the many small yet fleeting American manufacturers that were part of motorcycling history. There is nothing about the people that makes up motorcycling culture. This authors constant need to remind you of the "NP" as he calls them or the "Nicest people", wears thin very quickly. Of course he is making reference to the Honda ads from the 70's. "You meet the nicest people on a Honda". He wants to put the Harley culture in one box and everyone else in another less flattering box. Skip this book unless you like reading a 200+ page Easy Riders article on how if it weren't for the Harley's and the Davidson's, There may never have been a motorcycle.
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Born to Be Wild: A History of the American Biker and Bikes 1947-2002
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Price: $1.45
Updated on 6-20-2008.
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