Around the World on a Bicycle (Classics of American Sport) [Paperback]

Thomas Stevens (Author)

Book Description

Series: Classics of American Sport | Publication Date: December 1, 2000

In 1884, Thomas Stevens left San Francisco on a Columbia high-wheeler with the outrageous goal of becoming the first man to ride a bicycle across the United States. When he reached Boston, he decided to continue around the world, and soon sailed to London for the ride across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The high-wheeler was heavy and cumbersome, his supplies were limited to socks, a spare shirt, and a slicker that doubled as tent and bedroll, and much of the country he traversed was wild. Yet he persevered, recording his colorful and often harrowing adventures during the three-year odyssey in a classic of 19th century adventure and travel writing.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

An account of the first man to ride a bicycle around the world; a classic first published in 1887.

About the Author

Thomas Pauly is a professor of English at the University of Delaware. He has written on a broad range of subjects, including books on Elia Kazan and the musical Chicago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1072 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811726533
• ISBN-13: 978-0811726535
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #964,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, July 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Around the World on a Bicycle (Classics of American Sport) (Paperback)

San Francisco to Boston, England to the Balkans, Turkey to Afghanistan, India, China and Japan: Stevens boldly cycled where no bicycler had gone before!

On the recommendation of a friend, I've been looking for this book for years. So I was delighted to learn that it had just been republished for the first time since 1902. Yes, 1902: Stevens started his trip in 1884. This intrepid wheelman (note: "wheel" is singular because Stevens' cycle was so dominated by the 50 inch front wheel he would often just refer to it as his "wheel") recorded his adventures and thoughts about the people and lands he visited during 13,500 miles of cycling.

As you might expect from a bicycle journalist, Stevens carefully describes the riding quality of most of the roads and trails he followed, comments on his many headers, and joked about the amount of food he could eat at the end of a long day pedaling a 41 pound bicycle. But the book is far more than a cycling story, it is a glimpse into a world that is long-gone yet still relevant. He saw the hostility between different ethnic groups in the Balkans, he visited Kurdish nomads in what is now northern Iraq, commented on how the mullahs were preventing Iran from modernizing, etc. A man of his times, some of his words (e.g., not particularly flattering portraits of the Native Americans that he met) would definitely not be considered politically correct 110 years after he wrote them. But all in all, it was a delightful read.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Back in print at last!, February 6, 2001

By 

Joshua Putnam (Pacific, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Around the World on a Bicycle (Classics of American Sport) (Paperback)

Truly a classic traveler's tale, one that I'd been tempted to pay $100+ for a used copy of last year. This is an excellent reprint of the original, with all its illustrations, plus some of Stevens's other writings on his trip, with a well-footnoted introduction.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quite a feat!, November 2, 2003

By 

GGW (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Around the World on a Bicycle (Classics of American Sport) (Paperback)

It's amazing to think that Stevens was able to complete such a journey over 100 years ago on such a beastly bike. With no gears and bad roads, it seems he had to walk (or trundle) his bike as much as he rode it. It is especially interesting to see just how different some parts of the world are now, and yet just how little other parts of the word have changed since his journey. More than a travel book or bicycle adventure, the book is an interesting time capsule from long ago that is a pleasure to read!