Customer Reviews

Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way)

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This is a beautiful book with many great vintage images, and short well researched vignettes that celebrate women and womans history through the lens of the early years of bicycling 1860-1910. The book was written with the young adult reader in mind, but given that this is the first book of its kind, i.e., a book on the history of women in cycling, it will be enjoyed by women of all ages, and everyone else who is fascinated by the historical place of the bicycle in our culture.

It will be a keeper on my bookshelf!

The celebration of International Women's Day 2011, a global day to recognize the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future, is perhaps a perfect time to look at how the bicycle changed women's lives in the late 19th Century and helped them ride to freedom. Sue Macy and National Geographic bring us Wheels of Change, an excellent full-color book on the history of the bicycle's impact on society and the lives of women. To men, the bicycle was a toy but to women it was "a steed upon which they rode to a new world."

Filled with black and white photographs, full color paintings and advertisements from the day and a wonderful eye-catching design, Wheels of Change reads more like a magazine than a history book. Your eyes flash across the page, from an anecdotal narrative to the vivid pictures inserted seemingly on every page, to the poems, songs and newspaper articles from the day, all celebrating (and often times challenging) how the women of the time embraced the bicycle.

But history it is. Rich in detail, both educational and humorous, with a tone that is always upbeat and positive. These glossy pages are a reminder of where we've been, a reflection on the present. This is the type of book that leaves you enlightened by the past, optimistic about the world, and empowered for the future. Should we expect anything less from National Geographic?

The bicycle was not always just for transportation, exercise or leisure. To this day, in some parts of the world, the bicycle brings children to school, transports goods to the market, takes the sick to clinics, and imports medicine to places that need it. It saves lives. And in the late 1800's and early 1900's, the bicycle saved women from the constraints they had always faced.

The book is filled with amusing stories about the female celebrity cyclists of the day, lessons on cycling slang, bicycling songs and poems, and advertisements portraying how women embraced the bicycle. From the early velocipede to the rubber-tired steel-framed high-wheeler, to the modern version with two wheels of equal size and tires filled with compressed air, we learn the evolution of the bicycle along with the evolution of fashion, industry and advertising. As women switched from skirts to bloomers, and riding become more popular, the consumer culture reacted and soon repair shops were opened, manufacturers began making bicycle bells and lights, bike paths were constructed and bicycles were modified to suit a female rider. Did you know women once rode side-saddled with both legs on the same side of the bicycle? This reviewer didn't.

We learn about Annie Oakley, who could ride her bike no-handed while shooting at targets, and Belva Lockwood the first women to appear on an official ballot for U.S. President who rode a tricycle to work. Then there's a great story about Annie Cohen Kopchovsky, who attempted to ride her bicycle around the world in order to settle a bet....and get this: she didn't know how to ride a bicycle! And there was another catch - she was challenged to start with $0 and return with $5,000, a fortune for that day and age. Did she make it? How much money did she raise? It's worth picking up Wheels of Change to find out!

Like nearly every social craze, cycling by females met the usual opposition. Denounced as the downfall of women's health and morality, the medical community quickly recognized the benefits to health but warned women: no racing! And did the women of the day pay attention? Of course not. We are rewarded with a wonderful section on female bicycle racing and how they used to race on an indoor track in front of thousands of spectators (mostly women). In an effort to settle the growing popularity of the bicycle, The Omaha Daily Bee presented women with a list of bicycling Don'ts. Don't carry a flask. Don't stop at road houses. Don't wear clothes that don't fit (this one still applies!) and most importantly: Don't powder your face on the road.

The worries over women's health and detriment to religious devotion were unfounded and the bicycle gave women increased independence, better health, freedom from restrictive clothing and even helped them gain the right to vote. But don't take it from me. Sue Macy's Wheels of Change is diligently researched, flawlessly designed and expertly executed. A wonderful book on all counts.

Mark McGinty is the award winning author of The Cigar Maker and Elvis and the Blue Moon Conspiracy. His work has appeared in Cigar City Magazine and La Gaceta.

This is a great book both for it's subject and the pictures depicting independant female cyclists. In her introduction, Sue says "Wheels of Change looks at how the bicycle took America by storm in the 1880's and '90's and especially at the ways in which it changed women's lives". The book is written for young adults, but as a 51 year old I fully enjoyed it, the history of cycling (which I already knew, but was happy to see in print again), the history of women in cycling (something forgotten to history, when atheletic women were religated to the circus or freak shows). Also, Sue writes about other ground-breaking women such as Frances Johnston, a photographer of five presidents, who apparently donned a false mustache to work in the world of men at that time. The book is an easy but compelling read, complete with many pictures of the era.

I've been following this writer at the recommendation of a librarian. This time around, Macy shows how the bicycle transformed the lives of women. It's a fun, fascinating premise, brought to life with cool vintage photos. (I don't know how they found some of these!) Students will love this. Good one for libraries.

Who's ever thought of the effect that the bicycle had on women's lives? I must admit, I never did until I read Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way).

We've all jumped on our bikes as children and can remember that feeling of the wind whipping through our hair and the freedom we felt as we were allowed to venture away from home, even if it was just around the corner to visit a friend. That's why it was eye-opening to see all of the ways the bicycle took America by storm in the 1880s and '90s. Readers will be fascinated to learn how the bicycle helped American women gain increased independence, better health, freedom from restrictive clothing and eventually, the right to vote.

Wheels of Change takes a new look at the women's movement that nobody has before. After all, a handful of women applied for U.S. patents for bicycle-related inventions, women published how-to books, bicycle design was transformed to accommodate women's clothing, and female cyclists frequently graced the labels of cigar boxes. There are so many fun-filled facts that are accompanied by black and white photos, color posters and magazines, and more. Sue Macy writes in the introduction, "I hope you enjoy the ride." You will.

This full-color book is for all ages: adults will enjoy it as much as will middle graders. Every page contains photographs or diagrams or posters of some sort, and they all illustrate the history of women and the bicycle. There's some absolutely wonderful sidebar information on types of bicycles, how they were propelled, where they were raced, who held the records, and so on. The book is very well written and its argument convincing: that the bicycle helped women achieve a certain degree of freedom, and that once that was achieved, there was no going back -- only forward. My only complaint about this book is that it ends suddenly and abruptly: as a reader I would have liked a kind of tapering off into the present day. Or, if not that, some dates on the cover, such as 1850 - 1920 or such, so that I would be prepared for the story stopping.

I bet you would never guess that something as simple as the invention of the bicycle could play such a significant role in the lives of women, but it did. Macy shares a spectacular journey of the bicycle and its roll in moving the fight for the rights of women to the fore front. Macy introduces readers to pedaling pantaloon wearing women and their passion for the right to ride. This awesome collection displays photos from the era, articles and advertisements of the ever-changing times. Innovative women like Kate Parke who invented the first bike lock, Alice A. Bennitt who invented a bike canopy, Mary F Henderson who invented the bike saddle. So many women were becoming more liberated from this great invention. The 1800's was a time for women to start showing they could be active in the community by supporting each other, taking care of their homes and turning their hobbies into an income. Macy thrusts readers into the world of men and how women plunged right through it holding their own. Celebrities in their own right include Belva Lockwood, the first women to appear on the official ballot as a candidate for U.S. President, Katherine Wright an avid cyclist, whose brothers were Orville and Wilbur Wright, Annie Oakley rode a bike and so did Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie. New clothing designs were popping up in shops and magazines everywhere, enticing women to ride in comfort. Women of all colors, shapes and sizes were expressing themselves and becoming more and more liberated each day. I highly recommend this exciting memorabilia filled book for readers of all ages. The back of the book showcases a history of women from 1770 to 1920. Educational and fun this is a great resource for parents and teachers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was an easy read, with hundreds of short snippets regarding the change bicycles made to women's lives. Although it focuses on women, male cyclists will enjoy the book as well. Although I am an avid cyclist, I had no idea what big news bicycles were when they were first introduced to the United States.

I borrowed this book form the library, but am purchasing my own copy as a keepsake, to be read over and over.

This delightful history of the impact that the invention and popularization of the bicycle made on bettering women's lives during the closing decades of the 19th century is both informative and entertaining. The book explores the bicycle culture of the late Victorian era, showing how women were liberated from their mundane domestic existence by the new mode of transport. The short features appearing at the end of each chapter cover a wide variety of fascinating topics: from celebrity cyclists, through cycling slang, songs and press, to selling with cycles, covering the use of bicycles in publicity ventures. It was amazing to find out how ubiquitously bicycles were used in marketing, even at a stage when such a mode of transport sometimes ran counter to prevailing mores.

In addition to the main body of the text, which is illustrated on nearly every page with either a black-and-white or full-color photo, additional inserts tell of women who received U.S. patents for bicycle-related inventions during the late 19th century, and of cycle options for women. Potted pen biographies are given of leading female cyclists of the period, including Alice Austen, Charlotte Smith, Amelia Jenks Bloomer, Dora Rinehart, and Frances Willard. Macy has also included a number of newspaper reports of the day, including a list of don'ts for women cyclists taken from the Omaha Daily Bee and "Drew the Line at Bloomers: British Columbia Police Object to a Woman's Bicycle Costume," taken from the Brooklyn Eagle. In addition to her inclusion of a timeline giving highlights in cycling and women's history, Macy also provides a short annotated list of books and web sites that can be consulted for further information. She also recommends that interested readers visit the Bicycle Museum of America in New Bremen, Ohio and the Metz Bicycle Museum in Freehold, New Jersey. The book ends in a comprehensive index.

National Geographic has an outstanding reputation for top-class publications that are both exceptionally well illustrated as well as written by experts who are extremely knowledgeable in their own fields. The author of Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) was herself addicted to bicycle riding from a young age (as can be seen in the photo of her at age four, posed alongside her bicycle, with a resolute expression on her face, as though she's saying "I'm going to get there, no matter what--brakes off!"). This is Macy's fifth book for National Geographic, and most definitely not her first venture into writing about sport. Two of her previous books are Higher Stronger: A Photographic History of the Summer Olympics and Freeze Frame: A Photographic History of the Winter Olympics. This book, too, does her proud, as she clearly has researched her subject very well. Her accessible and lighthearted style makes what she has to say all the more accessible and enjoyable. This book is an absolute winner, and should appeal not only to cycling enthusiasts and to those who are interested in women's rights, but also to all those with a keen interest in the impact of technological developments on the social evolution of America. [Reviewer for BookPleasures.com]

A history book for kids can do any number of things. It can concentrate on a topic that has been well-documented in adult books, synthesizing and simplifying the text so that a 10-year-old could understand what is written there. Or it can do original research, never seen before on the adult page, culling from a variety of sources and coming up with something wholly new. The former nonfiction history book is pretty common. Even bestsellers like "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Fast Food Nation" end up with younger dinkier versions like the young reader's "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Chew On This". The latter is rare, but it happens. Yet every once in a while you'll come across something like Chris Barton's "Day-Glo Brothers" which was the first published book EVER to tell the story of the men who invented that particular color scheme. More recently, Sue Macy has gone a similar route with her newest National Geographic title. "Wheels of Change" pairs the history of the bicycle with the history of women's rights, showing quite convincingly how one influenced the other (and vice versa).

Macy begins her book with a short essay by Leah Missbach Day, co-founder of World Bicycle Relief, which vows to provide bikes to those in need. Through her eyes we see women around the globe coming into their own all thanks to the power of the bike. With this idea fresh in our minds, we watch the rise of the bicycle itself. Its history, its influence, the changes it went through, etc. Slowly, we also see how its very appearance affected women. Suddenly girls had a mobility they'd never encountered before. The new invention caught on like wildfire amongst women as diverse as Annie Oakley and Marie Curie. There was some resistance to the idea of girls on bikes, sure, but Ms. Macy takes care to show how bicycles inspired everything from new fashions to daredevil races. Her story stops in the early twentieth century (in tandem with the slow rise of the automobile) and she includes in the back of the book a hugely helpful timeline of "Highlights in cycling and women's history", a list of Resources (including books, web sites, and places to visit like the Bicycle Museum of America and the Metz Bicycle Museum), Sources, and an Index.

The important thing to establish here is how cooped up and restrained (in every possible sense) women were prior to their bicycle-based escapades. There needs to be a palpable sense of release when you see these women zooming about on their two wheeled contraptions, and I would have liked to have seen a little more of the restriction of women prior to seeing them biked up. The book begins by simply delving into the history of the bike itself, from boneshakers to penny farthings. Then the author slowly works in the women. You might not even notice at first, but near the start there will be a page of bicycle-related patents from the late 1880s and 1890s, as created by women. Or there will be a picture showing a woman in 1893 on a "Lady's Pedestrian Hobby-Horse." By the time the book points out that bikes were marketed to women not as a rights issue, but rather with a mere profit-motive in mind, the book has seamlessly integrated the history of women with the history of the bike. Chapter Three backpeddles (ha ha) a little in showing women's fashions and limitations (has anyone ever considered producing an adequately horrifying Gibson Girl Barbie, by the way?), then nicely turns into a discussion of bloomers and other accoutrements women would wear on their new modes of transportation. Personally, I would have liked the third chapter to have been the second, but it's a small quibble.

Not that any of this went unnoticed by the self-designated guardians of public decency, of course. In fact, it's difficult not to compare the bicycle backlash to the teens-with-automobiles backlash of the 50s and 60s. Where there is available travel (and the chance to escape prying eyes) there will also be accusations of licentiousness and lewd behavior. Of course, the critics of women on bikes were not limiting themselves to merely criticizing the bike's ability to escape chaperones, but rather the very idea of a women balancing on such equipment. Was it or was it not ladylike behavior? In light of their talks it's amazing not that women took to the bikes, but that they had access to them in the first place.

A book of this sort could have come across as dry and dull as old toast, were it not for Macy's sparkling writing, the eclectic design of each and every page (a National Geographic staple in books for kids), and the sheer number of photographs to be found here. In fact, I would like to state for the record that Ms. Macy has gone the extra, yet necessary, mile of locating not just images of young white women on bikes but images of young black women too. There are at least two photographs and one drawn image of African-American women standing beside or riding their bicycles. Too often when we read accounts of women's rights and the rise of feminism, the authors will forget that it wasn't just a movement of white girls. Macy takes care to find what she can on the subject, scant though it might be, to give the book a more rounded historical outlook.

Part of the reason that nonfiction books for kids that produce original research are so rare is that they don't slot neatly into the five historical categories that elementary school tests will be looking for. No standardized test will ever ask for an essay about the relationship between the rise of the bicycle and the rise of women's consciousness and freedom. For that reason, it will take dedicated librarians, teachers, and booksellers to get it into the hands of its intended audience. Kids are helped by the fact that it's so visually stimulating. Constant photographs, drawings, newspaper articles, advertising cards, and other ephemera crop up to aid in the reading. Some children will be the dedicated sorts who start at the beginning and work their way through to the end, while others will prefer to dip in, skim, and keep to the images and their informative captions. Both are legitimate uses of the book. Both serve a purpose.

Out of curiosity, I checked to see how the Library of Congress categorized this particular book. I found that they prefer to place the book under the subject "1. Cycling for women--United States--History." Well, luck to you if you hope to find a companion novel in your children's section under that subject heading. Macy herself provides many a fine title in her Resources section at the back of the book, but you will find all the titles there are for adults. To find such a book for kids is rare and wonderful. To find that the book itself is ALSO rare and wonderful is just a nice plus. A great idea, a fine follow through, and a subject that has been too little considered until now. It's enough to make you want to grab a helmet and a bike and to try it out for yourself.

For ages 10 and up.