Book of the Week (December 12, 2011)

By
It's All About the Bike:  The Pursuit of  Happiness on Two Wheels
By Robert Penn

Call Number:  TL 410 .P46 2011

Review from the New York Times

Publisher's Description: Robert Penn has saddled up nearly every day of his adult life. In his late twenties, he pedaled 25,000 miles around the world. Today he rides to get to work, sometimes for work, to bathe in air and sunshine, to travel, to go shopping, to stay sane, and to skip bath time with his kids. He's no Sunday pedal pusher. So when the time came for a new bike, he decided to pull out all the stops. He would build his dream bike, the bike he would ride for the rest of his life; a customized machine that reflects the joy of cycling.

It's All About the Bike follows Penn's journey, but this book is more than the story of his hunt for two-wheel perfection. En route, Penn brilliantly explores the culture, science, and history of the bicycle. From artisanal frame shops in the United Kingdom to California, where he finds the perfect wheels, via Portland, Milan, and points in between, his trek follows the serpentine path of our love affair with cycling. It explains why we ride.
It's All About the Bike is, like Penn's dream bike, a tale greater than the sum of its parts. An enthusiastic and charming tour guide, Penn uses each component of the bike as a starting point for illuminating excursions into the rich history of cycling. Just like a long ride on a lovely day, It's All About the Bike is pure joy- enriching, exhilarating, and unforgettable.

Robert Penn has worked as a lawyer, waiter, contractor, DJ, photographer, and journalist-and biked to every single job. He writes for the Financial Times, the Observer, and Condé Nast Traveler, as well as a host of cycling publications.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fast Access to Scholarly Articles on Popular Websites

By
Image
What is LibKey Nomad? LibKey Nomad is a free browser extension that quickly connects you with full text resources from the UWSP Libraries as you research on the web. It works with Wikipedia, PubMed, and hundreds of publisher websites.  If the Libraries do not have the full text, LibKey Nomad will link you to Search@UW where you can make an InterLibrary Loan request. To get started: take a look at our guide for more information visit Download LibKey Nomad select your browser follow the prompts to install, selecting “University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point” as your organization.  LibKey Nomad connects you to resources while preserving your privacy. No personal account is needed, and LibKey Nomad does not track users or store your ID after you close your browser. 
Read more

Book of the Week: One Islam, Many Muslim Worlds By Raymond Baker

By
Image
One Islam, M any Muslim W orlds : S pirituality, I dentity, and R esistance A cross Islamic L ands By Raymond William Baker Call Number:  BP 161.3 B344 2015 Review from the journal Foreign Affairs Publisher's Description:   By all measures, the late twentieth century was a time of dramatic decline for the Islamic world, the Ummah , particularly its Arab heartland. Sober Muslim voices regularly describe their current state as the worst in the 1,400-year history of Islam. Yet, precisely at this time of unprecedented material vulnerability, Islam has emerged as a civilizational force strong enough to challenge the imposition of Western, particularly American, homogenizing power on Muslim peoples. This is the central paradox of Islam today: at a time of such unprecedented weakness in one sense, how has the Islamic Awakening, a broad and diverse movement of contemporary Islamic renewal, emerged as such a resilient and powerful transnational force and what imp...
Read more

Summer Hours for UWSP Libraries

By
Image
Summer Hours: Starting May 18th, the UWSP Libraries will operate on summer hours. Please check our summer hours for your study and research needs. Closures due to Scheduled Power Outages: Stevens Point Library (CCC 130 & 104): Closed Thursday, May 23rd. University Archives (TNR 110): Closed Wednesday, May 22nd, and Thursday, May 23rd. Please plan your visits accordingly, and we hope to see you over the summer!
Read more