THE MECHANICAL HORSE: HOW THE BICYCLE RESHAPED AMERICAN LIFE

Book ID/图书代码： 13590016B87677

English Summary/英文概要： 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 country’s 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 dresses—as well as their restricted gender roles—so they could ride. And doctors recognized that aerobic exercise actually benefits the body, which helped to modernize medicine. Margaret Guroff demonstrates that the bicycle’s story is really the story of a more mobile America—one in which physical mobility has opened wider horizons of thought and new opportunities for people in all avenues of life.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 随着全国各个城市都在新增自行车道并修建自行车共享车站，骑车正重新在美国掀起热潮。似乎每隔一两代，美国人都会重新发现自行车所带来的移动的自由、便利和相对的经济性。自1819年自行车来到费城引起轰动以来，两个世纪过去了，自行车依然是拥堵的街道上速度最快的通行方式。

本书讲述了丰富生动的故事，揭示了自行车是如何改变美国人的生活的。19世纪，随着自行车的流行，人们第一次开始修建乡间坎坷不平的道路，为之后洲际高速系统奠定了基础。自行车手们是第一批进行长途自由行的人，而他们中的一些人（包括一个叫亨利•福特的家伙）后来开始从事汽车的开发工作。为了可以骑车，女性开始抛弃传统的裙装和严格的身份角色。而医生开始发现有氧运动对身体的益处，从而促进了医学现代化。作者通过本书告诉大家，自行车的故事也是一个更加流动的美国的故事——身体的流动性开拓了精神视野，并为所有人提供了全新的机会。（LYR）

Awards/获奖情况：“一部阳光、热情的文化历史。”——Kirkus 2016-02-01

“对两轮自行车队美国社会的变迁造成的影响进行了有趣深入的分析。强烈推荐。”——David Herlihy，著有《自行车的历史》

“Margaret Guroff在这部杰作中，将自行车革命置于美国社会和文化历史的大背景之下进行论述，极具突破性。本书是非常罕见的佳作——学术基础扎实、分析深入，但又极具可读性，令人爱不释卷。”——Tom Crouch，作家，著有《The Bishop’s Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright》

"A bright, enthusiastic cultural history. " (Kirkus 2016-02-01)

"A provocative, in-depth analysis of the two-wheeler’s shifting influence on American society. Highly recommended."—David Herlihy, author of Bicycle: The History

"Margaret Guroff has broken new ground with this masterful account of the bicycle revolution set in the broad context of American social and cultural history. The Mechanical Horse is that rarest of books, a work of solid scholarship and deep analysis so readable that you can’t put it down."—Tom Crouch, author of The Bishop’s Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright

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