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Around the World on Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry's Extraordinary Ride
Zheutlin pens the remarkable story of one woman--Annie Londonderry--one bike, and one incredible journey that would change the face of sports, feminism, and America itself. Illustrated.
Paperback, 260 pages
Published
October 1st 2008
by Citadel Press
(first published 2007)
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I found this to be a very terrible book about a very interesting event. The author didn't have sufficient information to really tell the story, so he speculated endlessly. "What Annie must have been thinking at this time?" "Whether she actually did this or that is not known, but..." He fills in the rest of the pages by quoting endless newspaper stories that say exactly the same thing, over and over again. It seems quite clear to me that this gentleman sold the book on proposa...more
Non si tratta di un romanzo. O di una biografia. O di un saggio sui benefici e non della bicicletta.
E' qualcosa in meno di quel che si può pensare dal titolo, ma ha qualcosa in più da quel che ci si poteva aspettare dopo aver letto le prime pagine.
Pensavo fosse la storia romanzata della famosa (non per tutti) Annie Londonderry, e della sua impresa compiuta a fine diciannovesimo secolo per una scommessa: fare il giro del mondo in bicicletta. Il racconto del suo giro c'è, ma di romanzo...more
E' qualcosa in meno di quel che si può pensare dal titolo, ma ha qualcosa in più da quel che ci si poteva aspettare dopo aver letto le prime pagine.
Pensavo fosse la storia romanzata della famosa (non per tutti) Annie Londonderry, e della sua impresa compiuta a fine diciannovesimo secolo per una scommessa: fare il giro del mondo in bicicletta. Il racconto del suo giro c'è, ma di romanzo...more
Kate
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
ladies of the Wheel
Recommended to Kate by:
Mom
Shelves:
biking
"The wearers of the bloomers are usually young women who have minds of their own and tongues that know how to talk."
"The occasional denunciation of the pastime as unwomanly, is fortunately lost in the general approval that a new and wholesome recreation has been found, whose pursuit adds joy and vigor to the dowry of the race. Having reached these conclusions, the onlooker is drawn by the irresistible force of the stream. She borrows, hires or buys a wheel and follow...more
"The occasional denunciation of the pastime as unwomanly, is fortunately lost in the general approval that a new and wholesome recreation has been found, whose pursuit adds joy and vigor to the dowry of the race. Having reached these conclusions, the onlooker is drawn by the irresistible force of the stream. She borrows, hires or buys a wheel and follow...more
I read this book and had the chance to meet the author over a discussion of the book, which was a wonderful experience. What I like most about this book is that when you first pick it up, you assume it's going to be a narrative of an amazing ride (which it is) of an adventurous woman (which she was), but that the feat accomplished is simply a tour around the world--this is not the case. Annie Londonderry makes for a very complicated character, sometimes likeable, sometimes admirable, sometimes n...more
interesting to a point -- the basic idea of a woman riding her bike around the world way back at the turn of the century was intriguing. But the author writes like he is writing a dissertation -- way too caught up in documentation--the point is that we know Annie *exaggerated* (a lot) and that it is impossible to know much of what actually happened--but it's still a great story, and should have been told as such. It would have been a better read if the author simply said once or twice, hey, we...more
I "read" this book in audiobook form while on a long car trip, and I listened to it all the way through without much interruption, so my impressions may be very different from those I would have if I'd read it in paper form.
But it was repetitive. The book mostly follows a chronological order, but jumped around in time just enough that you often know what's coming because it's already been mentioned. The effect is, well, boring. And there's really no excuse for a true story ...more
But it was repetitive. The book mostly follows a chronological order, but jumped around in time just enough that you often know what's coming because it's already been mentioned. The effect is, well, boring. And there's really no excuse for a true story ...more
Candice
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people interested in late 19th century females
I thought this might be a good book to recommend to biking friends, but I think I would recommend it only to female biking friends, and then with a caveat. It's not all about biking. The woman who went "around the world on two wheels" in 1894-1895 often used four. To be sure, she had to cross the oceans in ships, but it seemed like she took the train more than was absolutely necessary.
Not only that, but she embellished her stories leaving the reader wondering what was tr...more
Not only that, but she embellished her stories leaving the reader wondering what was tr...more
This book was not an easy read with detailed descriptions and some repetition of the same events. However, I learned a lot about women's lives and social mores during the 1890's and a little about the history of bicycling to boot! I came to admire Annie for her independent and strong spirit in spite of her tendency to tell tall tales about her so-called trip around the world on a bicycle. Amusing. Thought provoking. It will make you grateful that you didn't live in the 1890's!
I read this for a paper I am presenting at a conference next winter. Turned out, I got more out of it than what I was looking for. It's a fascinating and complex true story about a woman who set out to cycle around the world in 1895. Annie was not a feminist, not even a "New Woman." What compelled her to go? What I found particularly interesting about the book was the issues that it raises with regard to being a woman.
Fun history/travel story about a woman who decided to go around the world on a bicycle in 1894. Annie made up a lot of the stories that she told to the newspapers, but she used the publicity to her advantage and even though she didn't really bike around the world, she did travel, alone, and making money on the way through advertising and working, she was an interesting woman that just took a chance.
The good parts are in the beginning and very end. The author’s journey, finding out about his relative and the parts about the New Woman and how the bicycle played into that were fascinating.
The not so good parts are everything else. This woman was a fraud and swindler but still I thought she was amazing and the author put her down more often than necessary.
The not so good parts are everything else. This woman was a fraud and swindler but still I thought she was amazing and the author put her down more often than necessary.
A great bicycle story of the early days (1894) She was a clever, self promoter who rode around the world her way. This is a true story...or as much as her decendent could research from the press in the mutiple cities and countries where she visited n her incredible journey.
A true story about a young married woman who in 1894 took up the challenge to ride a bike round the world in 1 year. The first half of the book is engrossing but it begins to wear thin after that.
Very interesting read. It was wonderful to read about a woman who apparently was world-famous in the mid-1890s but is virtually unknown today. What a tragedy.
Interesting person. Good audio about women's rights and the bicycle.
Boring.
I wish there was a 2.5. Ok book, interesting.
I thought this would be the story of Nellie Bly on a bike. Unfortunately, the amount of biking that Londonderry did was far short of around the world. And this lady was no Nellie Bly. The book suffered from the inability to tell truth from lies and a somewhat disjointed narrative. It made me with I had read a different book about women bicyclists or biking in the 1890s.
Rather disjointed book
Tells about Annie Londonderry's bike ride around the world in 1894-95. Had some interesting thoughts about women's rights but didn't draw me in completely and it was hard to completely like Annie since she was a bit of a fraud
This book is a true story about a young woman in the late 1800's. Her goal was to make it around the world on bicycle in only 15 months. She was a strong woman and persevered. I liked the book, but it was a little slow to read.
Interesting story. Great to read about a pioneering woman and a bicycle trip. The writing was good but not one of those stories that had me not wanting to put the book down. Glad to know about this gutsy dame!
What a hoot! I would love to have as much chutzpah as Annie did. An account by Annie Lodonderry's great grandnephew of her around the world trip from 1894-95. A must read.
An unexpected impulse buy whilst out at lunch today. Unfortunately not as gripping as I had hoped. I keep getting distracted by other titles.
Wonderful story, but very poorly written and not interesting enough to hold my attention. Boring.
Interesting true account of a Victorian woman who rides her bike around the world
I thought this was a great read. The book was well-researched and fascinating.
The amount of research done was amazing.
(uncorrected proof)
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