REVIEW: THE LOST CYCLIST by David Herlihy

The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance

This is a completely unexpected story of the early days of cycling -- and the dwindling days of worldwide adventure.  The heady days of Stanley and Livingstone, Darwin and the Beagle, and the Royal Geographic Society were past, but an entire generation still itched for a chance to make their mark and see foreign lands.  In the late 1890s, cycling became the rage among the youth of America.  Popular among casual and hardcore athletes alike, it made distances shorter, healthful living easier and invoked a sense of danger.  Adventurers saw an opportunity -- see the world over the handlebars of a cycle.

This book is divided into two sections.  The first focuses on the era, the sport of cycling and the heroes of the new fad sweeping the nation.  It's a well-researched snapshot of the times -- the battle between "ordinary" and "safety" cycles, cycling clubs, competitive magazines and advertisers, and adventurous spirits.

The second section traces the ill-fated Frank Lenz in his attempt to circle the globe on a safety bicycle (excepting the oceans and other impassable sections, of course).  His determination captured the affections of the general public and he became a household name.  When the story became about Lenz's disappearance, it seemed everyone had an opinion.

William Sachtleben and Thomas Allen

At times, the first half seems to move slowly.  The groundwork laid in the initial pages does become important to the second half, but it's hard to know that.  It would have helped to drop a hint of the second half at the outset so the reader is looking for the two tales to merge.

The book compiles dozens of telegrams, letters, memos, transcripts and articles and pieces together the story of Lenz, and his would-be rescuer Sachtleben.  The research is extremely impressive, particularly due to the number of sources, many of them foreign governments that no longer exist.  

The Lost Cyclist is a great read for anyone who has wanderlust, with a touch of Orientalism.  It truly finds a story worth telling from a time gone by.  You may even find yourself feeling nostalgic for time you never lived in.

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Many thanks to the folks at HMH Books for the review copy.

ISBN-13/EAN: 9780547521985 ; $14.95

ISBN-10: 0547521987

Trade Paperback ; 368 pages

Publication Date: 05/04/2011

Trim Size: 5.31 x 8.00 

REVIEW: PARISIANS by Graham Robb

An Adventure History of Paris

Consider this an entirely unorthodox guidebook through the crooked streets and tumultuous times of Paris.  Robb, as expert as one can be without actually being Parisian, uncovers and shares fleeting tales of famous moments in the City of Lights.  

It is rather like finding a train ticket or a receipt and discovering an unknown afternoon.  He leads off with a somewhat innocuous story of Napoleon visiting the city (the Palais-Royal in particular) as a young man.  From a diary entry, the reader sees a generous and impressionable man -- not a fearless conqueror.

A sophisticated underground system

Robb continues to reanimate voices through the centuries.  Marie Antoinette is captured only because she became lost during her escape attempt.  M. Guillaumot literally keeps Paris from collapsing by shoring up old mining quarries and tunnels -- then finds a new use for his underground city.  The real, vengeful and masterful Comte de Monte Cristo is uncovered.  The romantic criminal-turned-detective Vidocq and the devastating life behind La Boheme.  There is a story of a small building in Marville that escaped numerous wrecking balls.  The photographs of it over the years show the lives it has held.  It is a study of which Walter Benjamin and Roland Barthes would be proud.  Zola and Proust weave in amongst the crowds in the early days of the Eiffel Tower and the Metro - landmarks in their own right.  An alchemist takes clues from the facade of Notre Dame and an exuberant Hitler goes on an eerie tour of the city he has obsessed over.  

A famous Metro sign

The book slumps in the middle. The chapters "Occupation" and "Lovers of Saint-Germain Des Pres" do not hold up nearly as well.  Robb uses various storytelling techniques throughout the book, all in an attempt to enhance each tale.  Yet the distant, impressionist portrait of the lives of children during the war doesn't carry the weight it deserves.  The existential chapter is written in screenplay form (Godard-esque, perhaps?) but it is barely readable.  Thankfully, Robb returns to more approachable and appropriate styles of the remainder of the book.  (Sadly, he skips the surrealists and the street photographers of the 1920s.  Perhaps he feared too much had been written on them already). 

These are postcards; small tales, yet ones you can't believe you'd never heard.  It underscores the importance of archives, history-gathering, and storytelling in our own time.  It is not the streets and buildings that make a city -- it is what happens within (and under) them.  The foundations of predecessors determine as much as a cornerstone.  

Many thanks to the folks at WW Norton for the review copy.

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Hardcover  - April 2010   ISBN 978-0-393-06724-8   6.5 × 9.5 in / 496 pages