I’ve had a number of books come in for review in the past month. Two new ones and updates of two older ones, all worth a place on your cycling bookshelf.
“My Cool Bike: An Inspirational Guide to Bikes and Bike Culture” by Chris Haddon
My Cool Bike was a quick read, but an enjoyable one. At best, it was a nice reminder of why we love bikes and bike people. It is mostly a visual journal of bike culture, packing 300 pictures into its 160 pages.
The book is divided into sections devoted to urban bikes; commercial bikes; touring and sporting bikes; vintage/eccentric bikes; custom bikes; community bikes and bike sharing; workshops and cafes; and accessories including fashion.
The bikes and the people are predominantly European. The book offers a glance into a culture that views bikes more as a daily part of their lives than as a sport to be mastered or a thing to be acquired.
Another notable aspect of the book is how people make bikes their own. I’ve always said that one of the neat things about bikes is that you’ll rarely if ever see two bikes that are exactly alike.
"My Cool Bike: An Inspirational Guide to Bikes and Bike Culture" by Chris Haddon Photographer: Lyndon McNeil Published by Pavilion, an imprint of Anova Books Distributed by Trafalagar Square Publishing from IPG Published September 2013 ISBN-13: 9781862059610 Price: $24.95
“Maglia Rosa: Triumph and Tragedy at the Giro d’Italia (2nd Edition)” – Herbie Sykes
I had the opportunity to review the first edition of this book when it came out in the spring of 2011. I gave it 4.5 out of 5 then and I see no reason to change that now. If anything, I might add a little more to that given that the second edition comes in a paperback version that saves the reader a little bit of money.
So, some highlights from the full review:
“Encompassing 312 pages and boasting over 150 images from the storied history of the race, the book delves into the history of the race, the changing sociopolitical climate and the heroes (Italian and otherwise) that made the race uniquely and distinctively Italian.”
Compared to some books that came out this year for the 100th edition of the Tour de France, Maglia Rosa aims to be a comprehensive history:
“While the book is comprehensive, it is hardly chronological. The chapters tend to focus more on the achievements of individual champions rather than a year by year telling of the race, causing the timeline to jump forward and backward quite a bit. As I mentioned above, the Giro was often the story of ordinary men who found glory and a way out of poverty with success at the race. Sykes actually took the time to go and sit down with some of these champions like Tino Coletto, Orfeo Ponzin and Italo Ziliolo and learn about how winning the race forever changed their lives.”
I think that Sykes and I are of one mind when it comes to the Giro:
Somehow, through a century of history, the Giro has survived radio, television, outside champions, inside deals, friendships, rivalries and doping to remain what Sykes calls, “…the most beautiful, and the most captivating, of cycling’s great stage races. Quintessentially and resolutely Italian… enthralling, esoteric and frequently unfathomable. That’s entirely as it should be, for the Giro is still Italy’s race, the country in microcosm.”
”Maglia Rosa: Triumph and Tragedy at the Giro d’Italia” Herbie Sykes Paperback, 336 pages ISBN-13 9781408190012 Price: $40 plus shipping at http://www.rouleur.cc/maglia-rosa-second-edition
Telegragh Book of the Tour de France
Inexplicably, this book arrived at BWN headquarters about a week after the conclusion of the Tour de France.
This edition offers a different view of the Tour de France from most books as it is basically a compilation of article transcripts from English newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
The Telegraph covered the Tour de France almost from the race’s inception, but to be completely honest, they didn’t really pay a whole lot of attention to the race until the days of Tom Simpson. If you need any indication of that, the first sixty years of the race are covered in the first thirteen pages.
Even from 1964, there are entire years of the race that are skipped over.
Still, some of cycling’s most prominent journalists wrote for the Telegraph over the years. The names include Phil Liggett, Samuel Abt, William Frotheringham and Brendan Gallagher.
The latter years of the race covered in the book sound like a diary of doping. Phil Liggett is especially keen to decry the use of performance enhancing drugs in the sport, but curiously defensive of Lance Armstrong and his successes. Even Alberto Contador’s doping positive in the 2010 edition of the race is almost treated as a minor footnote in the annals.
It’s not surprising that the articles and the book give special focus to the successes and trials of riders from the United Kingdom, but the book stops with the 2011 race, missing the overall victories of Bradley Wiggins in 2012 and Chris Froome in 2013.
The book fails to fulfill my quest for a comprehensive bible of the race, but does provide a good chronological view of the race for the Anglo world. I’d recommend you add it to your bookshelf if they update it with articles from the past two years.
”The Telegraph Book of the Tour de France” Edited by Martin Smith, articles by Phil Liggett, Samuel Abt, William Frotheringham, Brendan Gallagher and others Paperback, 295 pages ISBN-13 9781845135454 Price: $18
The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France (updated edition)
This is another book that we’ve covered before. The paperback edition, just released, includes a new afterword by Tyler Hamilton that covers events since the publication of the hardcover book in August 2012.
In case you don’t recall, Lance Armstrong’s wall of lies all came tumbling down late in 2012 when USADA released their reasoned decision to the UCI , followed by Armstrong’s ‘tell most’ interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Some fans still defend Lance Armstrong and others still persist in calling Tyler Hamilton a liar. I’m not one of those people. I’ve been fortunate enough to interview him and found him to be intelligent, open and engaging. I won’t be re-reading the entire book, but I will enjoy looking at the afterword.
”The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France” Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle Paperback, 302 pages ISBN-13 9780345530424 Price: $16
Ron Callahan is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.