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Two Wheels Good by Jody Rosen (Hardback)
**SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2023**
A panoramic revisionist portrait of the nineteenth-century invention that is transforming the twenty-first-century world.
'The real feat of this book is that it takes us on a ride-across the centuries and around the globe, through startling history and vivid first-person reporting.' - Patrick Radden Keefe, New York Times bestselling author of Empire of Pain
The bicycle is a vestige of the Victorian era, seemingly out of pace with our age of smartphones and ridesharing apps and driverless cars. Yet across the world, more people travel by bicycle than by any other form of transportation. Almost anyone can learn to ride a bike - and nearly everyone does.
In Two Wheels Good, writer and critic Jody Rosen reshapes our understanding of this ubiquitous machine, an ever-present force in humanity's life and dreamlife, and a flashpoint in culture wars for more for than two hundred years. Combining history, reportage, travelogue, and memoir, Rosen unfolds the bicycle's saga from its invention in 1817 to its present-day renaissance as a 'green machine' in a world afflicted by pandemic and climate change.
Readers meet unforgettable characters: feminist rebels who steered bikes to the barricades in the 1890s, a Bhutanese king who races mountain bikes in the Himalayas, astronauts who ride a floating bicycle in zero gravity aboard the International Space Station.
Two Wheels Good examines the bicycle's past and peers into its future, challenging myths and clichés, while uncovering cycling's connection to colonial conquest and the gentrification of cities. But the book is also a love letter: a reflection on the sensual and spiritual pleasures of bike riding and an ode to an engineering marvel - a wondrous vehicle whose passenger is also its engine.
'Love for two-wheeled transport runs through every sentence in the book' - Economist
'The best thing I've ever read on a single subject' - Lauren Collins, author of When in French
'This is social history as it ought to be written: funny, precise, surprising, anti-dogmatic and unafraid of following a story' - Adam Gopnik, author of Paris to the Moon
About the Author: Jody Rosen is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. His writing on culture, politics, transportation, and music has appeared in The New Yorker, Slate, New York, the Los Angeles Times, and other publications.
Number of pages | xvii, 396 |
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We'll despatch your order as quickly as we can. If, for whatever reason, a product is out of stock we will contact you to discuss the likely delivery time or an alternative product.
First Item | 2 Items & Over | |
---|---|---|
UK | £3.75 | £5.00 |
EU | £15.00 | £30.00 |
USA & Canada | £30.00 | £50.00 |
Rest of the World | £45.00 | £60.00 |
Collect in Store | free | free |
Additional Delivery Information (and some really important bits):
UK Delivery
Orders for delivery in the UK are despatched by Courier and Signed For delivery services and will normally be delivered to you within a few days of placing your order. Signed Books are shipped in our specially made book mailing cartons, with the books themselves wrapped in paper to protect them. Sometimes we may ship your order in several parts, particularly if you have 'Pre-Order' titles in your order or titles which are held in stock with our publishing partners.
The Really Important Bit: Because we use courier and signed for delivery services, please use an address at which your parcel can be signed for during the normal working day, for example, you may want to have your order delivered to your work address if you're not at home during the day.
First Item @ £3.75 (sometimes a shipping supplement may be added for particularly heavy books or specific postcodes*)
2 Items & over @ £5.00 in total
Another Really Important Bit: There are a number of Postcodes in the UK for which we will need to charge a shipping supplement, this will be calculated once we know the size and weight of the shipment. For these orders we will contact customers to agree a suitable and economic method of shipping. There may also be additional time required for delivery to some areas of the United Kingdom. Where possible, we will ship single book orders (under 2kg) by Royal Mail to all UK postcodes. Multiple book orders and books over 2kg are shipped via APC Overnight, regardless of Postcode.
Overseas Delivery
Shipments to EU countries:
First Item @ £15.00 (sometimes a shipping supplement will be added for particularly heavy books)
2 Items & over @ £30.00 in total
A really, really important Brexit bit: From 1st January 2021 shipments to EU addresses may incur additional costs which could be requested by Fed Ex at the time of delivery. These costs may vary from country to country and are not within our control and will be in addition to the costs paid to us for your delivery. If in any doubt, please check with your local Fed Ex office what, if any, additional costs will be applicable to your order - https://www.fedex.com
From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery.
Shipments to the USA & Canada:
First Item @ £30.00
2 Items & over @ £50.00 in total
Shipments to the Rest of the World:
First Item @ £45.00
2 Items & over @ £60.00 in total
All overseas orders are shipped using a 'signed for' courier service - please provide an address at which your parcel can be signed for on receipt. We use the same packaging materials for our overseas deliveries as we do those in the UK. In some cases, particularly large and heavy books, or books being shipped to remote areas, may incur an additional shipping charge - if this is the case with your order, we'll notify you as quickly as possible of these charges and to arrange the additional payment. You can of course cancel your order with an immediate refund should you not wish to accept these additional costs. Shipments to overseas territories may incur additional Duty & Tax costs which could be requested by Fed Ex at the time of delivery. These costs may vary from country to country and are not within our control and will be in addition to the costs paid to us for your delivery. If in any doubt, please check with your local Fed Ex office what, if any, additional Tax & Duty costs will be applicable to your order - https://www.fedex.com
Collect in Person at Coles Books
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Coming by Car
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Where to Find Us
Coles Books
22 Crown Walk
Pioneer Square
Bicester, Oxfordshire
OX26 6HY, United Kingdom
It was the most impressive packaging that I have EVER SEEN!!! The books were in perfect condition!!!!!
Super fast delivery and well packaged. Quality item and service!