Around the World on Hot Air and Two Wheels [Hardcover]

Malcolm S. Forbes (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 271 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1ST edition (September 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671600311
• ISBN-13: 978-0671600310
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,187,676 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars BEAUTIFUL coffee table book, June 13, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Around the World on Hot Air and Two Wheels (Hardcover)

The photography is top notch! Each chapter describes a different adventure in a different place and was written by a different member of the Forbes entourage. Some are really well written. Others are a little amateurish but hey, they're not supposed to have been written by professional writers!

Why does this book only rate 2 stars? Because all but ONE chapter couldn't be more obsequious. There is so much butt kissing and boot licking in each tale that my tongue felt dirty reading it. It's too obvious that the authors were putting on their best manners in thanking their executive host for trips on which it was clear that they retained their corporate ranking.

As a motorcyclist myself, I concluded that Malcolm Forbes was not a person I would have liked. Motorcyclists have a Three Musketeers "one for all and all for one" attitude when we're out for a ride. We take care of each other. If one of us has a problem, we all stop and pool our resources to help them. Not Malcolm. There was one ride during which they encountered a puddle the size of a lake. Malcolm BLASTED through it. He made it. Others didn't. He just kept going. On another ride one by one, members of the group ran out of gas. Again, Malcolm just kept going. He "almost" made it to the destination hotel. He ran out of gas just across the street but couldn't turn into the lot because of the divided highway. A crowd had gathered to see the famous bazillionaire so he waved for them to push him to the turnaround and back to the hotel (it was well over 100* with oppressive humidity) just so he could boast and rub it in to the others that he had RIDDEN the whole way. Yet another chapter tells of how one of the governments wouldn't allow him to fly over their country but he insisted and insisted and insisted until he got his way. "How DARE they refuse me? I'm Malcolm Forbes!" Only one of the chapters comes right out and shows Malcolm's true colors -- but it's written so charmingly and tongue-in-cheek that most don't even realize that he's painting Malcolm in his true stripes.

It's a beautifully laid out coffee table book with superb photography. Skimming through here and there will probably not result in the need for mouthwash. But to sit down and read it... keep a bottle of Scope nearby.