Hear Me Roar: Women, Motorcycles and the Rapture of the Road, New Ed. [Paperback]

Ann Ferrar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2001

Written by a journalist from the saddle of her motorcycle, this book chronicles the bold world of women in motorcycling: the myths, the history, and subcultures of free-spirited riders with a passion for two wheels and the road. This is the first account of this little-known facet of women's rocky road to personal independence in America. Packed with stories and photographs of pioneering women and their machines from the first grande dames who hitched up their skirts to ride motorized bicycles at the turn of the century to the high-tech drag racers, stuntwomen and exotic adventure riders of today. "A woman's symphony on the road." The New York Times.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A woman's symphony on the road." -- Jed Stevenson, The New York Times

"Ann Ferrar's writing makes you want to drop everything, free your diva-self and explore the open roads!" -- Sasha Mullins, RoadDivas.com and BikerLady.com

"Hear Me Roar paints an exuberant picture of women who thrill to the sound of heavy-metal thunder." -- Margot Mifflin, Entertainment Weekly

"This book is a great statement for all the women who roar!" -- Tina Bond, Women in the Wind

From the Inside Flap

Chronicling the bold world of women in motorcycling, this book encompasses the freedom, the independence, the excitement, the mythsm the sensuality, and the phenomenon. Their story is here in fabulous detail, along with practical information and a rider's reference to motorcycle clubs, rallies, manufacturers, and periodicals across the country. 150 photos. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Whitehorse Press; 2nd edition (January 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884313248
• ISBN-13: 978-1884313240
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,115,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A history of past and present riders and safety information, March 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Hear Me Roar: Women, Motorcycles, and the Rapture of the Road (Paperback)

Hear Me Roar is a fascinating chronicle of the lives of past and present female motorcycle riders. The inspiring riders date from the early 1900's to the present, street and race drivers, young and old. Any female motorcycle rider who reads this book will feel proud to be a part of this ongoing history.

The practical sections in Hear Me Roar regard safety and risk management, rally information, clubs, and advice on choosing a first bike. This is a great addition for a person's personal library as well as for a club lending library. The information in the practical sections is "must reading" for new riders.

"Why do I really love this book? Not only because I respect the hard work and sacrifice required to produce it, but because I want a copy for my grandchildren. I want them to know that I was a participant in the middle years of the struggle to gain acceptance for women in motorcycling. I want them to be proud to know that their grandmother cared about motorcycling and women and that she joined not a group of scuzbags, but a group of interesting, exciting, energetic, on-the-edge women who ventured into a man's world and made it a world for all. What a concept!"

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that gives women wings, December 18, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Hear Me Roar: Women, Motorcycles, and the Rapture of the Road (Paperback)

This is the first book of which I am aware that identifies and follows--literally "on the road"--a group of women who have found a sport that is at once an exhilarating physical activity, a mode of transportation, and a recreation that makes its own political statement: I can do it myself! I don't need to cling to the back of a man while he guides the machine through the traffic of the world. I love the way the author, Ann Ferrar, has shown the multi-class, multi-cultural, multi-spirit of the women described here. I love her spirited prose and the photographs she (mostly) made herself. I love the fact that she--a tiny, curly-haired intellectual woman--committed herself to this idea and this project to show the rest of us what we are missing. Read this book, women, then try your wings!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Empowerment for Life from a Two-Wheeled Thrill, October 11, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Hear Me Roar: Women, Motorcycles, and the Rapture of the Road (Paperback)

When we see a woman on a motorcycle, we can't help but
wonder who she is, what her life must be like, and what
makes her ride. Author Ann Ferrar traveled across the
country on her own motorcycle to answer those questions for
us. And the answer vibrates as resolutely as an American
V-Twin, crosses boundaries in dual-sport fashion, and powers
motorcross style over life's bumps and potholes.

Ms. Ferrar has documented the history, heritage, and heart
of women motorcyclists from California to New York. Not
content for this to be merely a lesson of the past, she has
captured the essence of current female motorcyclists. Her
final reference chapters regarding choosing motorcycles,
gear, training, and camraderie, light a high-powered halogen
headlight for our future women riders.