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Sturgis: The story of the rally
very good book
330 pages, Perfect Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
2 people want to read
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May 5, 2011
Carl Edeburn, a professor at South Dakota State University, does his research into the rally's history. Most of the sources are the newspaper, but he does include personal interviews into the mix. Sometimes this research felt heavy and just a regurgitation. For example stating a person won best dressed (no pictures were ever included of this) or rode from the farthest away. His main focus for the beginning years of the rally are on the races. In each year, a rider or two is highlighted. He includes the immeasurable help Pappy Hoel and the Jackpine Gypsies offered the early rally years.
I had a few problems with structure of the book, specifically, the last two chapters. The second to the last chapter was the late 1970s to 1980. Since the races were no longer, he wrote about how the committee changes hands and a brief mention of the change of the physical environment on Sturgis i.e. the campgrounds and Main Street stores. He doesn't mention the specifics campgrounds, the burgeoning "city limits" or Main Street being blocked off.
The last chapter was only ten pages long and discussed 1981 to current (the book was published in 2003). The very condensed twenty or so years was annoying especially that when he wrote about the racers he included other stories outside of Sturgis or the races. Lastly, there were a few too many grammatical errors like Laconia being spelled with an M and an asterisk that didn't go anywhere.
I had a few problems with structure of the book, specifically, the last two chapters. The second to the last chapter was the late 1970s to 1980. Since the races were no longer, he wrote about how the committee changes hands and a brief mention of the change of the physical environment on Sturgis i.e. the campgrounds and Main Street stores. He doesn't mention the specifics campgrounds, the burgeoning "city limits" or Main Street being blocked off.
The last chapter was only ten pages long and discussed 1981 to current (the book was published in 2003). The very condensed twenty or so years was annoying especially that when he wrote about the racers he included other stories outside of Sturgis or the races. Lastly, there were a few too many grammatical errors like Laconia being spelled with an M and an asterisk that didn't go anywhere.
Displaying 1 of 1 review