"Reading Bicycle Diaries makes cosmic indifference a lot easier to deal with."
—The Seattle Times
 Since the early 1980s, David has been riding a bike as his principal means of transportation in New York City. Two decades ago, he discovered folding bikes and started taking them with him when travelling around the world. DB's choice was initially made out of convenience rather than political motivation, but the more cities he saw from his bicycle, the more he became hooked on this mode of transport and the sense of liberation, exhilaration, and connection it provided. This point of view, from his bike seat, became his panoramic window on urban life, a magical way of opening one’s eyes to the inner workings and rhythms of a city’s geography and population.
Bicycle Diaries chronicles David’s observations and insights — what he is seeing, whom he is meeting, what he is thinking about — as he pedals through and engages with some of the world’s major cities. In places like Buenos Aires, Istanbul, San Francisco, and London, the focus is more on the musicians and artists he encounters. Politics comes to the fore in cities like Berlin and Manila, while chapters on New York City, and on the landscaped suburban industrial parks and contemporary ruins of such spots as Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Columbus are more concerned with history in the urban landscape. Along the way, DB has thoughts to share about fashion, architecture, cultural isolation, globalization, and the radical new ways that some cities, like his home town, are becoming more bike-friendly — all conveyed with a highly personal mix of humor, curiosity, and humanity.
BUY:
View larger map
 PRESS — LINK TO FULL TEXT REVIEWS:
• "Our perception of urban living is changing."
The Toronto Star, 23 October 2009
• "I just look at things and go ‘um'”
The Globe and Mail, 23 October 2009
• "It's not a tedious cycling manifesto or urban prescriptive; rather, it's an intensely personal look at how cycling has shaped one artist's life."
National Post, 20 October 2009
• "At its heart, Bicycle Diaries speaks of Byrne’s desire to understand community, how people interact — what defines aesthetics and perceptions of art, success, happiness, and modern life."
The MIT Tech, 16 October 2009
• "We’re not Copenhagen yet, but maybe someday we’ll get there: 'Little by little,' he says, legs churning. 'It’s not going to be something overnight.'"
The New York Times - City Room (+ video), 13 October 2009
• "...you're engaged in this other activity that allows those connections to be made that might not seem logical or sensible at first. And then, and you go, oh yeah, look, there is a connection."
NPR Weekend Edition (+ audio), 4 October 2009
• "They're charming, they're floating...little floating whorehouses. There's a sign that says 'Hold Your Child's Hand.'"
SF Streets Blog, 30 September 2009
• "His bicycle use is a sort of departure point for his perspectives on modern life..."
The Kansas City Star, 28 September 2009
• "Byrne's reflections are as varied as the countries he visits..."
The Washington Post, 27 September 2009
• "But I say no, no, no / and didn’t you know / you get to know things better when they go by slow."
Chicago Sun-Times, 27 September 2009
• "Above all, his bedrock respect for the dignity of the human spirit and the fascination with what human beings can create, wherever it can be found, shine through every page."
The Daily Kos, 27 September 2009
• "Byrne can be a very shrewd and droll observer. [...] The book, then, is partly about cycling but also about whatever Byrne happens to have on his mind at the time, and fortunately a lot of it is quite interesting."
The New York Times Book Review, 25 September 2009
• “We’ve gone through eight or ten years of a bully culture — on Wall Street, in politics. I think we’re turning a corner."
Streets Blog, 24 September 2009
• "When you're on a bike, you start wondering about basic things like, 'Why is that like that? Why is that part of town the way it is? Why is the advertising you see the way it is?' You notice more, and you can range pretty far once you get on a tangent."
Chicago Tribune, 24 September 2009
• "Byrne's eclectic, energetic spirit imbues the book with depth in addition to affirming the eccentricities of would-be bike advocates everywhere."
The Portland Mercury, 24 September 2009
• "...finally one grasps the existential message that anchors the whole thing, that life and death are essentially meaningless. [...] [R]eading Bicycle Diaries makes cosmic indifference a lot easier to deal with."
The Seattle Times, 23 September 2009
• "...the hydraulic-limbed Byrne is a plain but keen stylist. [...] Here's to hoping his kindly manifesto becomes the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance of a new generation."
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, 22 September 2009
• "The rock star who sang about burning buildings, highways and life during wartime turns out to be an acute observer of the urban condition, a veritable rolling philosopher."
The Miami Herald, 22 September 2009
• "From music to films to art to the Internet to books, the singer of "Psycho Killer" has become a public intellectual."
Los Angeles Times, 21 September 2009
• "We’ve known for a long time that he possessed a quizzical mind; more shocking is discovering here how wholesome it is, too."
The New York Times, 20 September 2009
• "Bicycling is like a religion to Byrne, a symbol of his wide-eyed eternal youth, and also a kind of therapy."
New York Magazine, 20 September 2009
• "Whether you're a cyclist or not, Byrne's insights into everything from outsider art to aboriginal folk lore [...] are wry, witty, and, more often than not, wise as well."
The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 September 2009
• "As a free thinker, he doesn't always land in places that I agreed with, but his paths were enjoyable and provocative, not to mention quirky and personal."
San Francisco Chronicle, 20 September 2009
• "It's a political and philosophical travelogue tied together by Byrne's bike rides in cities, from Niagara Falls to San Francisco, London to Manila."
USA TODAY, 17 September 2009
• "Newcomers will enjoy these off-the-cuff sketches from an unpretentious cultural polymath; acolytes will cherish a closer look at Byrne’s weird, wonderful brain chemistry."
Time Out New York, 17 September 2009
• "I cycled when I was at high school, then reconnected with bikes in New York in the late 70s..."
Audio interview,
The Guardian (UK), 13 August 2009
• "...it's about the surface that presents itself to us in cities, and I dig a little bit deeper than the surface."
The Guardian (UK), 13 August 2009
• "It may not tell you much about cycling, but the Talking Head's discursive travelogue is hugely entertaining."
The Observer, 2 August 2009
• "...this is a loving tribute to the bicycle and world travel."
Booklist, 1 August 2009
• "We eavesdrop as he dodges underage prostitutes in Manila, talks conceptual art with Grayson Perry in London, and breaks down in tears in the Australian desert. Perpetually curious, boyishly keen and open to new experiences, he comes across like a post-punk Michael Palin."
The Times [UK], 1 August 2009
• "Candid and self-deprecating, Byrne offers a work that is as engaging as it is cerebral and informative."
Publishers Weekly, 13 July 2009
LINKS:
DB-related:
• "A Talking Head Dreams of a Perfect City": DB article, The Wall Street Journal, 11 September 2009
• Bike charity auction: DB's Montague folding bike - auctioned to benefit the London Cycling Campaign
• "Bike Messenger: 'Pedaling Revolution - How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities' by Jeff Mapes": DB article, The New York Times Book Review, 28 May 2009
• "How New Yorkers Ride Bikes: Taking it to the Bike Lanes": The Globe and Mail, 8 October 2007
• Bike forum @ Town Hall: DB Journal entry & helmet cam video, 7 October 2007
• Some bike-related journal entries
Biking & urban planning links:
• Transportation Alternatives
•
Gehl Architects
•
EMBARQ The WRI Center for Sustainable Transport
•
Institute for Transportation & Development Policy
•
New York City Department of Transportation
•
Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy
• London Cycling Campaign
CONTACTS:
For foreign rights and reprints, please contact The Wylie Agency.
For publicity and interview requests, please contact Sacks & Co.
|
