Good Vibrations (Summersdale Travel) [Paperback]

Tom Cunliffe (Author)

Book Description

Series: Summersdale Travel | Publication Date: October 31, 2000

'A motorcycle the size of Roz's Betty Boop would have been beyond the dreams of the craziest pack leader at the Ace Cafe on London's North Circular Road in the monochrome days of rockers, Nortons, Bonnevilles and Marianne Faithfull, when 'good' was middle class, 'bad' misunderstood and the motorcycle offered stark hope to a generation of inarticulate searchers ...' Tom Cunliffe and his wife Roz take life in the saddle and on to the American highways and byways astride the quintessential 'dream machine' - the Harley-Davidson. Bikes Betty Boop and Black Madonna are chrome steeds for an extensive road-trip: from Maryland on the east coast to San Francisco on the west (and then back again), they thunder their way over the sun-beaten plains, through scorching Death Valley, neon Las Vegas, the deep South and everywhere in between. With flashbacks to the Sixties, the eclectic assortment of moonshiners, bikers hard and not-so-hard, cowhands, Sioux Indians, strippers, bible-bashers, war veterans, southern gents and the occasional alligator delivers a unique insight into the diversity of the USA. An easy-riding peepshow into today's America through British eyes and between the handlebars of the great Harley-Davidson.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''A pithy throbber of a book' ' Chris Stewart (Author of Driving Over Lemons) ''Good tomes for bikers are few and far between, but Tom Cunliffe's account of an epic trip deserves to battle for bookshelf space with Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.'' Sunday Express ''There is only one way to see America and its people; chasing, finding and losing the real fantasy that is her dream, and that is astride a motorcycle ... Listening to Cunliffe ...you'll understand why.'' The Metro ''...one of the most fresh, raw and honest travel books I have ever read...throbs with all the verve and excitement of the open road...'' Irish Tatler ''Pure Magic.' ' Yachts and Yachting ''Funny, self deprecating, compassionate, shrewd, beautifully observed and subtly evocative, Good Vibrations deserves to be a classic in its own right.'' Cruising Magazine ''Brilliantly entertaining.'' Southern Daily Echo ''Book of the month: Two Brits astride the quintessential "dream machine", the Harley Davidson, describe a portion of modern America on their travels from trailer park culture to Psycho-style motels, an encounter with Hurricane Bertha and an eclectic collection of people from moonshiners, ol' blues men to hillbillies.'' The Book Pl@ce

About the Author

Tom was born in 1947. He was educated at a grammar school in the North of England before going on to read law at the University of Liverpool. In 1968 he left the world of academia behind him and has pursued a career in sailing ever since. Starting as an uncertified instructor in the South of France, he has served before the mast in small sailing ships, skippered yachts for private owners, raced offshore, been to sea as mate on a British-registered coasting vessel and taught sailing, seamanship and navigation at all levels. He is one of country's senior Yachtmaster Examiners and is a consultant for the governing body of sailing in the United States. In his own yachts he has cruised with his family and friends to destinations as diverse as Brazil, Iceland, the Caribbean and Russia. Tom has been a writer since 1986, he is a columnist for Yachting Monthly has authored 15 books, including two 'Best Book of the Sea' award winners for Topsail and Battleaxe and Hand, Reef and Steer. Tom has been riding motorcycles since 1965. The bikes have included a 250cc BSA C15 that taught him about mechanical breakdowns, a 650cc Matchless that almost killed him at the age of 19, various reliable Hondas and Yamahas in the 70s and 80s, a Kawasaki GPZ1100 whose performance you simply couldn't ignore, a 1979 Triumph Bonneville T140 and the star of Good Vibrations a Harley Davidson Soft-tail called Black Madonna. Tom is married to Ros, fellow biker and sailor. Together they have a daughter called Hannah. Check out his own website at www tomcunliffe.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Summersdale; 1ST edition (October 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1840241136
• ISBN-13: 978-1840241136
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,527,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your time !, March 24, 2010

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hdtravel (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Good Vibrations (Summersdale Travel) (Paperback)

This could have been a very interesting travel narrative.

I really tried to make it work, but gave up reading it after about 80 pages.

It is just very poorly written. Long rambling sentences and strange word usage make for a strange and confusing jumble that will leave you with a headache.

There are far better biker stories out there. Do yourself a favor and skip this one.