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Review: Bicycle Diaries – Book by David Byrne
The Viking/Penguin group sent over a copy of Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne to review awhile back. Now that we have had the chance to read it all the way through…it is time for a book review to let you guys know what we thought.
First…who is David Byrne?
David Byrne is one of the cofounders of the musical group the Talking Heads and a bike commuter advocate that resides in New York City. His various works in photography and other arts has him published in 5 other books as well. Recently he added some new bike racks of his own design around NYC.
What is Bicycle Diaries About?
From DavidByrne.com:
Since the early 1980s, David has been riding a bike as his principal means of transportation in New York City. Two decades ago, he discovered folding bikes and started taking them with him when travelling around the world. DB’s choice was initially made out of convenience rather than political motivation, but the more cities he saw from his bicycle, the more he became hooked on this mode of transport and the sense of liberation, exhilaration, and connection it provided. This point of view, from his bike seat, became his panoramic window on urban life, a magical way of opening one’s eyes to the inner workings and rhythms of a city’s geography and population.
Bicycle Diaries chronicles David’s observations and insights — what he is seeing, whom he is meeting, what he is thinking about — as he pedals through and engages with some of the world’s major cities. In places like Buenos Aires, Istanbul, San Francisco, and London, the focus is more on the musicians and artists he encounters. Politics comes to the fore in cities like Berlin and Manila, while chapters on New York City, and on the landscaped suburban industrial parks and contemporary ruins of such spots as Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Columbus are more concerned with history in the urban landscape. Along the way, DB has thoughts to share about fashion, architecture, cultural isolation, globalization, and the radical new ways that some cities, like his home town, are becoming more bike-friendly — all conveyed with a highly personal mix of humor, curiosity, and humanity.
What We Thought About Bicycle Diaries
At initial glance, this book sounds great. It is about a guy who travels and brings his bike so he can ride around and soak up all the local scenes…that’s how it seems at first glance. In reality, this book is a history lesson. It is extremely hard to follow and there is not much about what he sees at all, or really even about him riding his bike.
- It is a bunch of rants about the poverty he sees in every city.
- He tells about outings with friends in different cities, art, and what buildings used to be.
- Complains A LOT about government and how they are ruining places, mainly about US government.
- Has the book sectioned into different cities he visited, but then jumps from to different cities in that section.
- It’s very hard to follow.
- Hates the Bush administration, calls them the “evil empire”.
- The book is entries into his journal, but there is no flow with any of them.
- Great book if you want a history lesson, or agree with his opinion.
- Horrible book if you want to read about a guy leisurely riding his bike and sharing what he sees in different cities via bike commuting.
- It made me very angry and aggressive to read it because he didn’t seem to check his facts when talked about politics, and they weren’t all correct.
Bottom line…it was not at all what I was expecting from a book titled Bicycle Diaries. I completely understand there are different political viewpoints out there and I welcome a difference of opinion. What makes this world so great is the ability for each individual to have their own thoughts and beliefs, but using a book and your fame as a rock star does not make for a good book when all you want to do is rant on different subjects.
Those that either agree with his political views or are blinded by the love of his music (The Talking Heads were a great band) are going to give Bicycle Diaries a great review, but…if you are not either of those…you are probably going to hate it.
In all honesty, I really struggled with the idea of posting this review publicly. I do applaud what David Byrne has done to promote cycling advocacy and bike commuting. I also do agree with David’s points he has made outside of this book in other arenas about making cities more bike commuter friendly and decreasing our footprint we are leaving on the world.
One of the risks I take by posting an unfavorable review of his book is the backlash of the assumption that I do not promote bicycling advocacy and related matters. This review of the book is my opinion on the book and the book only.
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