An excellent, edifying, erudite primer that wheels and deals in information on all things motion related.
In the beginning there was a wheel and, surprisingly enough, it wasn’t all that popular at first. Then it became all the rage and got a companion wheel. Enter cart (or a chariot if you’re fancy). But mostly a cart of some sort as in a small utility vehicle dragged along by some sort of an animal. Not the most efficient thing, but it stayed that way for centuries. Then the Industrial Age rolled around and everyone got chariotfancy and inventionhappy. And soon there were all sorts of fascinating inventions for daringly animal free locomotion. Some of it turned into bicycles and most of it turned into cars. Eventually. After a series of various stabs at it from a variety of directions. And then cars took over the world. Now that’s brief. The book expands on all these things in twelve informative chapters that chronologically trace not only the progress of motion, but also the social, political and economical ramifications of it. And it’s genuinely fascinating. Even for people with no special interest in cars. Because it’s more than a story of motion, it’s a story on the world. Since US is the leading car producer, user, etc. it steals the focus of the book. Right after all those Europeans get done inventing things, American comes along and makes them. In bulk. And so beginning with the Ford / GM rivalry of the early 20th century and right up to the present day with car production finally, finally, possibly on a downslide thanks to the numerous ride sharing options and potential of self driving vehicles and so on…you’ll get to know all about why Americans are so obsessed with cars and how this obsession has shaped the way they live. I already said fascinating, but it’s really such an apt descriptor here. This was just so well done. All the things I value in nonfiction…smart, accessibly written, succinct, with plenty of visual aid and not dragged down by footnotes (at least in the ARC edition). Gave me lots to ponder too. You learn and learn and it’s fun the entire time. I really enjoyed this book and it provided a most excellent introduction to a new to me author. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
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