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Bicycle Diaries
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By David Byrne
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 (49 Reviews)
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Publisher:
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Viking Adult
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Published:
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December 31, 1969 |
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Binding:
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Hardcover
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Pages:
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320
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A renowned musician and visual artist presents an idiosyncratic behind-the-handlebars view of the world?s cities
Since the early 1980s, David Byrne 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 on tour. Byrne?s choice was 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 it provided. Convinced that urban biking opens one?s eyes to the inner workings and rhythms of a city?s geography and population, Byrne began keeping a journal of his observations and insights.
An account of what he sees and whom he meets as he pedals through metropoles from Berlin to Buenos Aires, Istanbul to San Francisco, Manila to New York, Bicycle Diaries also records Byrne?s thoughts on world music, urban planning, fashion, architecture, cultural dislocation, and much more, all conveyed with a highly personal mixture of humor, curiosity, and humility. Part travelogue, part journal, part photo album, Bicycle Diaries is an eye-opening celebration of seeing the world from the seat of a bike.
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 Wonderful views of our world, September 17, 2009
By Kent Peterson (Issaquah, WA USA)
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David Byrne is a smart, funny, artistic sort of fellow whose talents, inclination and curiosity have led him all over the world. A few decades back, David discovered folding bicycles and since then he's ridden his bicycle along the side and back roads of many cities, riding, thinking, chatting, living life and seeing how it's lived in a wide range of places. His view of the world seen from a bicycle saddle gives him "glimpses into the mind of my fellow man, as expressed in the cities he lives in." Now, his meditations on people, places and the various ways we get along and get around are collected in his new book, Bicycle Diaries.
Bicycle Diaries is the best kind of art, a work that brings the reader along on the artist's journey. Bicycle Diaries is a physically beautiful book, hardcover with no dust-jacket, yellow embossed letters cheerfully identify the title and author while a black silhouette of a rider draws the reader forward. An observant reader will notice a tiny bicycle peeking out from the spine at the bottom of page 11 and on each odd page thereafter the bicycle has makes more progress. Fanning forward through the pages sets the tiny typeset bicycle free, racing across the pages in the oldest style animation, persistent vision holding tight to the bike while the pages blur past. Ever the artist, be it in music, lyric, print, or type, David remembers that a book can be more than just a file on a Kindle.
The tiny animation is just one example of the playful digressiveness of this book. While he casts a loving and critical look at the world, David is always conversational. He ponders, rants, muses and marvels. He reflects on how our cities reflect our minds. We build what we value, but our shaped world shapes those values. In an age where it seems that every celebrity has a publicist and a book that screams "look at me", David is instead riding his bike down interesting streets and pausing now and then to say "Hey, look at that!" He profiles interesting buildings, streets, people, cities and artists. He's structured the book as a series of chapters each concentrating on a city such as Berlin, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Sydney or New York, but the book is not a mere travelogue. In Manila, he uses the life story of Imelda Marcos as a springboard for contemplation of the way we each build the mythic stories of our lives. In Buenos Aires he considers geography, faith, death, music, art, unemployment, sex, the pack behavior of dogs, politics, football, gentrification, nightlife, and worker ownership. In every place he rides, he finds the unique and the common and connects the local with the global.
Bicycle Diaries is an intensely human and humane book, a book that echoes in print the sense of "My God, how did I get here?" that David expressed years ago in the Talking Heads. To an interesting person like David, all places are interesting and he consistently reminds us just how interesting humans are. We are the ones building the human world -- we don't just travel the world, we make it. David's work takes him out in the world, a world he shapes with songs and images. As he's ridden more, in more places, he's become more of a cycle activist, using his talents to shape the world to be friendlier to humans and bicycles. He's designed and installed bike racks in New York City, he thinks about helmet design and he works with transportation planners. And most importantly, he's written a wonderful book, a book that reveals the simple delight of riding a bike through an amazing world.
81 of 86 people found the above review helpful.
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 This should have been a New Yorker article, October 18, 2009
By Col des Aravis (Annecy, France)
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David Byrne is an enormously creative and thoughtful composer, artist and performer. He's also a cyclist and a world traveler which makes him a kindred soul. These attributes prompted me to buy the Kindle edition of the book and, while my expectations were not very high, this book probably should have remained a magazine article. In the acknowledgments David says it was a publisher/editor who convinced him that there was a book here and the author would have done well to ignore the advice. It is really a collection of thoughts inspired by David's bike rides in cities around the world and, while it is modestly entertaining, the thoughts inspired by his two-wheeled meandering are not particularly original or earth-shaking. I found myself abandoning the book about half-way through which is something I almost never do. The writing itself is not bad, but I just don't think he has enough to say to make this work as a book. I remain a David Byrne fan and I'll look out for his next effort, but I wouldn't recommend buying the book.
62 of 74 people found the above review helpful.
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 Not what it is hyped to be, February 5, 2010
By M. W. Kibby (Buffalo NY)
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Not only is the title of this book misleading, so is the marketing and hype about it. Supposedly, this book was to convey Byrne's observations and interpretations from the saddle of his bike as he pedaled through cities and suburbs of some of the world's most interesting venues (e.g., Berlin, New York]. Would that it were such. Being an urban bike rider who observes the life and rigors of urban living from my bike saddle, I thought this would be a great read. Well I was wrong. In fact, if this book had not been a gift to me (because it was on my 2009 Christmas list), I would say I was ripped off.
Some sections of the book do describe what is seen, heard, and thought while riding a bike. The description of riding from a section of Buffalo (actually, he was in a suburb at the start of the ride, and he eschews suburbs to a fare thee well) to Niagara Falls is one such description as is his account of riding from downtown Detroit to, and past, 8-Mile Road, but even these are brief, sketchy in observation, and woefully lacking in understanding and interpretation. Yeah, Byrne has numerous comments about rust belt cities, but nothing he thinks or says is a reflection of what he has actually seen from his bike--his comments are just stereotypic notions about Buffalo and Detroit (at least his text about Buffalo did not mention snow) that could have been embroidered into a discussion without ever leaving a pent-house condo in ever-growing cities such as Atlanta, Houston, or Los Angeles. His thoughts have little to do with what he actually saw on his trips, because he missed many important sites and many of those sites he did note, he failed to interpret wisely.
I have made the Buffalo to Niagara Falls ride at least a dozen times (though I have sense enough not to ride the dangerous-to-bicylists Maple Road past Hooters (now closed), Fuddruckers, Commerce Drive and Sweethome Road as he did on his ride) and have walked from downtown Detroit to 8-Mile Road at least three times, and I could write a great deal more than a few paragraphs from what I have seen from just those experience and and still avoid the cliches of Detroit not being there anymore and dissing franchise chain restaurants. What he says about cities is actually sophomoric--not wrong, just not astute and woefully lacking in insight and resolution.
But the real kicker about this book is not that he fails to see much from his bike rides, it is that most of the book has nothing to do with bike rides. He goes on to a great extent about Baltimore, Berlin and other cities without even mentioning bicycling. A better title for this book would have been The Musings of a Man Sitting Late at Night in His Hotel Room When Visiting Some of the Great Cities of the World in Which I Rode a Bike Once in a While.
If you are a David Byrne fan and want to know more about what he thinks about this and that of urban and suburban life and his comments on certain cities, then this book might interest you; but if you think you are picking up a book by a bicylist who describes his observations and thoughts while biking some of the great cities of the world, this is not the book for you.
42 of 51 people found the above review helpful.
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 The acidental cyclist, September 20, 2009
By Victor Christianson (New York, New York USA)
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Follow scattered moments of the life of a very interesting person as he bikes through - and makes insightful observations about - a great number of interesting and sad places. A very pleasant read and a nice journey.
10 of 13 people found the above review helpful.
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Political Thoughts of a Celeb, January 20, 2010
By Temple Fugate (Boston, MA)
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I am stunned by the other books that this seems to get grouped with on Amazon. They deal with biking, Zen moments and the trials bikers face in today's mechanical world. This book touches on the topic of bikes. What stands out most is Mr. Byrne's political views and this is very disappointing. If I would have known that this was the topic to which the book would return, I would never have bought it. Being famous does not really give one political insight. I would not read a book on politics by a former Red Sox pitcher and would not have read this had I not already put it on the Kindle.
The other thing that stands out in this book is his condescending attitude towards anyone who does not share his beliefs. I used to think he left the Talking Heads but if this is any representation of what he is like, it would be more logical that he was kicked out.
If you are looking for a book about biking, traveling, or the like, I would steer clear of this book.
I was going to give it two stars but the fact that I had to stop reading this several times before finally completing it (with no reward) I could not justify it. This is the type of book that makes me wish there was a library system for Kindles so I would not feel ripped-off.
10 of 15 people found the above review helpful.
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Great Recreation, October 11, 2009
By Jason Klein (Rochester, MN)
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This book is super fun to read. Hang out in David Byrne's front pocket as he travels the world and shares his perceptions about the hidden dynamics behind the socio-political environments of world cities. He somehow perfectly captures the moods and vibes of these places while sharing his interesting personal opinions of current affairs along the way. A leisurely read that I highly recommend.
7 of 7 people found the above review helpful.
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A political/cultural rant, under the pretense of a two-wheeled travelogue, November 29, 2009
By joey (Aspen, CO United States)
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Several reviewers have covered elements of this book including...
-its discursiveness (it is indeed, a pastiche of blog-like musings and observations)
-the fact that it is only tangentially about the subject alluded to in the title, the bicycle
-the fact that David Byrne is a liberal Renaissance man whose thoughts are generally more interesting and insightful than those of the average world citizen (sure, fine... I was a Talking Heads fan too, and even a liberal in most scenarios)
I've seen few reviews that cover what to me wound up being the essential aspect of this book: it is cultural/political snobbery by a writer who ought to be more aware than not everyone in his audience is a part of this enlightened, fortunate elite. (DISCLAIMER: I only read the first 80 pages. Perhaps the tone changed later in the book. But given the random-snippet aspect of it... I think I got the gist.)
Yes, I hated Bush too, and think America can learn some things from its neighbors, and agree that the lowest common denominator has in many cases weighted humanity down. But pervasively and persistently throughout this book (though sometimes subtly), David Byrne takes sneering potshots at the philistines whose fingerprint is visible everywhere he looks. While he may be right in many cases, his curmudgeonly take on things is made all the more irritating by his role as an exalted cultural arbiter. He seemed uninterested in bringing into the fold readers who do not already revere him. These 'masses' he takes issue with are, in fact, the majority.
7 of 14 people found the above review helpful.
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Kindle price seems wrong, September 20, 2009
By Robin (San Francisco Bay Area, USA)
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I thought all new hardbacks were supposed to have a kindle price of $9.99, yet this one is $13.22. I guess I'll wait until they correct the price.
7 of 36 people found the above review helpful.
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Missed opportunity, May 28, 2010
By SQL DBA (Virginia)
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This book is about how David Bryne used a bike to help him visit various places on his musical tours around the planet. Bryne seems to have few deep feelings for bicycling, and he offers little in the way of insights to the places he visited on his bike. For him, a bike is a means of transportation and that is about it. He could have walked to any of the locations he visited and conveyed the same vapid impressions of those sites. Yes, he has been lots of places and used a bike to expand his horizons, but his writing did little to interest me and he offered nothing but the most shallow of impressions of the places he visited. This book is much overrated. If you are a bike rider, you won't learn anything about how to use that bike to visit new places or even get tips on riding for pleasure. If you are a traveler, you won't gain any new insights to our world. This book is a time sink.
6 of 7 people found the above review helpful.
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 Stick to the bicycling, October 28, 2009
By Restoration ecologist (Philadelphia, PA)
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David Byrne, founder of the band "Talking Heads," has compiled a series of short essays about bicycling in cities around the world. The bicycling essays are accompanied by additional essays about music, friendship, city planning, and the scale of human communities that were inspired by thoughts that sprang into Mr. Bryne's head while he was riding his bicycle, visiting with colleagues, and performing. Mr. Byrne is an unabashed liberal, and he doesn't suffer fools lightly; I got the impression that he's of an age (mid-50s) and financially comfortable enough that he doesn't have to take any guff from anyone. His perspective is refreshing.
Having enjoyed the book, I have to point out that there's not much here that hasn't been said before, especially about city planning. I enjoyed the bicycling essays the most, and especially enjoyed his reflections about bicycling in New York (where Mr. Byrne lives), in other American cities, and in Berlin; the essays about other world cities were not as fully developed. The recollections of interactions with musical colleagues might be interesting to fans of world music, but I hurried through most of them. A good (but not great) read, and a gentle introduction to city planning for those not already familiar with the basics. The book is 291 pages long, but the pages are small and there are lots of photographs.
5 of 5 people found the above review helpful.
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Good concept; flawed execution., November 2, 2009
By D. Schaffner (St Louis, MO)
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Contrary to its' title, this book has very little to do with bicycling by David Byrne or anyone else. It's more of a collection of his musings as he visits various cities in the world. If you are one of those people who feel that a celebrity's opinions and political philosophy carry more weight than the rest of us, this book's for you. Good concept; flawed execution.
5 of 7 people found the above review helpful.
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Will it ever end?..., June 6, 2010
By oneview (USA)
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... is what I kept thinking around page fifty of this book. I feel compelled to ask Mr. Byrne what his vehement hatred and disdain for the prior administration has to do with supposed observations made from a bicycle while traversing the globe? I mean really...
Perhaps a more aproppo title for this torturous read would have been: "The Bicycle Bush-Bash Diaries: It's Not About The Bike WHATSOEVER!"
What a waste of a perfect literary premise-a passionate traveller's view of the world via bicycle. Unfortunately, Dave, much like your chosen mode of transport, you both folded AND flatted on this one.
5 of 13 people found the above review helpful.
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Good, but very uneven, November 8, 2009
By Central Squared (Cambridge, Ma.)
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I wanted to love this book, it touches on issues that are important to me. Cities, bikes, urban planning, travel, other cultures, exotic places. And it's David Byrne, who's pro-urban writings I've read before. But the end result is somewhat disappointing. The book is extremely uneven. Byrne is at his best when he's talking about what is in front of him. Describing the wastelands of Detroit, historic neighborhoods of Manila, the communist architecture of former East Berlin, a blackout in New York. But too often Byrne turns down philosophical and historical alleys where the pieces just dead end. He'll raise a question (often policy related), but then neither explore it in enough depth to be of any use to the reader, or offer any ideas to that specific problem. It's not a policy book, but it surfaces issues but then fails to provide any solutions or answers, or even solid details. It leaves you scratching your head as to what was the point of reading that? It often reads like a blog, poorly edited without continuity. The book is broken into sections by city, but often the content rarely relates to that specific city. The Manila, Sydney, and Berlin chapters would have been better off described as Phillipines, Australia, and Germany. There may only be a page or two on the actual city, followed by long diversions that often seem pointless, with no end or payoff for the reader. Having been to many of the cities Byrne writes about, I yearned for more detail of the built environment, the atmosphere of these places, of the true experience of biking in these places, of what's being done to make them more bike friendly. Instead the reader often gets vaguely unanswered philosophical diversions which just ring empty. The book is somewhat vindicated in the last two chapters and epilogue. The Sydney chapter is truly entertaining when discussing the deadly flora and fauna of the continent. The New York chapter dispenses with the philosophical ramblings and talks about the specifics of bicycling in New York and the efforts to make the city a more bike friendly place. The epilogue should have been the introduction, with a dose of urban planning history (with the usual deserved nods to Jane Jacobs) and some practical information about biking in the city. I enjoyed reading about Byrnes adventures, the characters he meets, the galleries he visits, but too often the book just sags when he heads down these deadend alleys. I would have loved a little more history, a little more of what governments are doing to help cities, a little more observations of the places he visits. It's worth reading, but I was definitely a little disappointed.
4 of 4 people found the above review helpful.
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not a cycling book, December 9, 2010
By Bob Neubauer (Pennsylvania)
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Don't expect to read much about cycle touring. This is mostly a famous person ruminating about random things. Oh, and sometimes he rides a bike.
4 of 7 people found the above review helpful.
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You gotta be kidding, October 8, 2010
By Dale C. Curtis
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David needs some history lessons concerning America. Typical beat down of the U.S. by a spoiled lefty. I made it about to page 45. Seems he thinks his fans are a typical brain base of America.I liked some of the ideas on change, however the political leaning were as far to the left as one can get and very sophmoric. In all, a waste of dollars. I always donate my books to the Good Will after reading but in this case its the trash.
4 of 12 people found the above review helpful.
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Loved, loved this book, November 1, 2009
By Tina (Montreal, Quebec)
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When I lost my job last April and found myself with a whole summer ahead of me, I decided to do something that I had been thinking about for a while! I bought myself a bike ( a little blue one actually) and ever since then, I discovered the joys of riding my bike everywhere! This is why the Bicycle Diaries caught my eye and I was eager to read it.
What a little gem of a book! I had vaguely heard of David Byrne but he was never really someone that interested me - until I discovered just how artistic and sensitive he actually is.
The Bicycle Diaries is a loving memoir about enjoying the freedom (for the most part) of bicycling - what a joy to be able to pedal your way through different towns and cities and to discover some of their secrets, cultures and little quirks - all the while getting some healthy exercise AND not ruining the environment.
Byrne explores many, many cities (the good the bad and the ugly) in this loving memoir of what it is like to discover a new place. His writing is sensitive, funny and always, always poignant. You can tell that this was a labor of love for him.
I also loved the pictures that are (black and white) throughout the book (how that house can still stand is beyond me!).
I enjoyed David's thoughtful comments - his perspectives and his spiritual look (in some cases) at the heart and soul of the cities and towns he visited.
Loved this book.
3 of 3 people found the above review helpful.
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Interesting musings about life, cities, travel, art business & biking, July 10, 2010
By "urban explorer who notices det.. (boston, ma, USA)
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My wife borrowed this book from library; we are both cyclists.
Interesting musings about life, cities, travel, the art business & biking. Byrne is a little all over the place with his insights and some of the details about modern art and the art business became too much. But overall, interesting and enjoyable.
While Byrne's approach to green living and touring is commendable, his primary reason for biking when visiting cities is that this is his desired way of seeing (experiencing) them. All bicyclists know you can notice so many more details about a place when on a bike than in a car or bus. Most of us wouldn't consider the bother of schlepping a fold-up bike via airplane to do so or biking to a business meeting. Lucky for Byrne that he can bike without sweating too much; I am not so lucky so I must wear spandex and shower after.
I wouldn't have the guts to bike some of the places Byrne does, even though I am not afraid to bike into downtown Boston (I can handle jerky drivers, especially if I know where I'm going.)
As following shows, the travel info. sometimes gets extended from the cities the chapters are named for: the Sydney chapter includes details about Byrne's flight into the center of the Australian continent and his driving where the roads are deserted.
Funny scene: Byrne helps an Australian man pull his car from where it was stuck in a ditch with his 4 wheel drive rental car. Then the Australian fool says he wants to drive the car back into the same ditch, as that's the direction he wants to go. Byrne tells the Australian that he's not going to pull his car out again and he won't be back for days and leaves right away.
I recommend this for those who like to read about travel, cities, biking or Byrne. Its a book which can be read over a long period of time as the various chapters do not build upon one another
3 of 3 people found the above review helpful.
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Down to earth!, April 7, 2010
By Pierre Gauthier (Montréal)
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This book originates from a blog and consists of collected jottings, many on the urban environment, others on music, yet others of a sociological or philosophical nature.
Rather impressionistic, they provide refreshing views on various cities across the world: Detroit, Berlin, Istanbul, San Francisco, Sydney, London, Manila, New York, etc.
The writing style is rough and unpolished but in full harmony with the contents. The book is illustrated with the author's own black and white photographs.
Though by no means earth-shattering, this work will be of interest to anyone concerned with cities and urban development in general.
3 of 3 people found the above review helpful.
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Hard to categorize, but an enjoyable book even if you're not a cyclist, October 22, 2009
By John Mayson (Austin, TX USA)
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David Byrne takes us around the world where he assembles his bicycle in his hotel room and takes to the streets of the world's great cities. The tales generally aren't about the bike. He does give the reader a general overview what what cycling is like in places such as New York, London, Berlin, and Manila. But his rich and well told stories involve the people he meets, and quite frankly, is far more interesting than reading about someone pedaling.
I gave the book four stars instead of five only because the narratives wandered at times and I had a hard time figuring out where he was going with some of the stories.
If you were a Talking Heads fan back in the day you'll enjoy the book. Same if you enjoy cycling or simply enjoy reading about everyday people in exotic locales. It's an easy, enjoyable read and I'm glad I added it to my collection.
3 of 3 people found the above review helpful.
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Intelligent observations on modern life, December 15, 2009
By Kenneth M. Pope (Milan, Italy)
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Some of the negative reviews of this book seem to take exception to the emphasis in the title; the book is more "diaries" than "bicycle". If yr looking for a travelogue or biking adventures, then this is probably not for you. If, however, yr a fan of DB's worldview (intelligent, skewed, very left-leaning) then there's a lot to enjoy.
For those that have read his blog, the tone will be very familiar (in fact, I remember reading some parts online). Mostly, it's DB traveling to various cities and then riffing on his thoughts and experiences there. Oftentimes, one thing leads to another and he goes off on wide-ranging tangents that don't have much to do with where he is physically. Thus the chapter on San Francisco includes thoughts about machine intelligence, ousider art, and language theory.
A few reviews have complained that his observations are rather obvious and while there's nothing earth-shaking here, he certainly articulates things the reader may have felt but not consciously thought about. As anyone familiar with his music knows, DB often has a witty and unconventional take on things. In the chapter on Buenos Aires, he connects the overtly sexual dressing there with that in LA, postulating that because people in LA are isolated from each other, they need to make an "immediate and and profound impression on the opposite sex....Subtlety will get you nowhere in this context." However, it is true that, as this is more of a diary than a planned book, ideas get mentioned more than they are explored or developed.
I've always been a big fan and am now even more so because it seems that he's lived his life well. In the end, if yr going to read someone's diaries, it's helpful if they're a well-thought person with an interesting life and creative friends and DB certainly has that in spades.
3 of 4 people found the above review helpful.
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Bicycle Diaries?, December 8, 2010
By Zeek (Washington, DC)
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Being the owner of a folding bicycle myself and having ridden it across a dozen American and foreign cities on various assignments I was initially intrigued by David Byrne's book in which he had apparently done the same. The first chapters started off in that direction but quickly devolved into Byrne's pessimistic commentary on a few American cities and a well worn and rambling narrative on the unacknowledged merits of everywhere else. There is frankly, very little related to cycling here save the occasional passing reference to the bicycle he is apparently riding. I stuck with it awhile longer as he writes whatever random thoughts seem to enter his mind about politics, sex, capitalism, drugs, art, etc. but it's ultimately a self-indulgent and unfocused collection of David Byrne's left wing, anti-Bush travel thoughts.
3 of 7 people found the above review helpful.
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It's not really about the bike!, February 8, 2010
By D. Hatcher
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As a keen cyclist I just had to have any book with the provocative title of Bicycle Diaries!
I didn't mind at all when I realised that this was about far more than simply cycling itself. The author's obvious interest in everything that goes on around him made it a fascinating read. Philosophy, architecture, art, music and history made it hard to put down and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone with similar wide interests and concerns about the world.
2 of 2 people found the above review helpful.
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Anything's Possible?, December 4, 2010
By Angela Flynn
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I admit it, I held off on purchasing this. I love DBs music, have purchased his books and I enjoy reading his online journal, but the idea of listening to him read a book didn't pull me in. I am so glad I did. His observations of the world are a historical chronicle, a cultural odyssey, a tour around the world, and most importantly, a hopeful critique of the way things are and on what is possible in the future. Throughout it all one gets a sense of an acceptance, and even a love for what it is and what can be. Maybe anything is possible.
2 of 3 people found the above review helpful.
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Magnificent Marriage of Right Brain and Left Brain, April 7, 2010
By Anita (Memphis)
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Admiring David since Talking Head days, and identifying with his songs about buildings, food, air, guitars, etc., I was pleased to find a further deep dive into his brain activity. His world is art because he is art. I am art. Bikes are art. If you are an extreme visual person, all your sensual portals have a visual sense to it. I enjoyed this book for that reason. As I was reading, I traveled to the same places and met the same people he did. FUN! Plus, it tickled my natural interest in design and architecture. I like this guy!
2 of 3 people found the above review helpful.
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Strays a bit too far from the bike path, December 1, 2009
By MC Tolen (Tulsa, OK)
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As a fan of Talking Heads and bicycling, I was very excited to read this book. Unfortunately, there's very little mention of Talking Heads and the bicycling aspect serves as a jumping off point through much of the book for David Byrne to muse on various cities, culture, people, art and music in other parts of the world. That may be great for anyone not particularly interested in the biking aspect, but otherwise I found it to stray a bit too far from the bicycle seat. The beginning and end of the book is much more focused,interesting,entertaining,quirky and in the spirit of what I hoped I would get from the book. The middle of the book is where it really strays and can be a bit too self indulgent and unrelateable for most readers, particularly in the Latin American visits (I'm interested in art and world music but David Byrne's discussions of the two go WELL beyond the casual interest). I found it difficult to stay interested during the middle section (get back to bicycling already!). I would recommend just perusing the middle for any parts you have particular interest. Overall I still enjoyed the book and found it worth reading. Byrne's insights are not earth shaking, but they are interesting, help focus the issues, and provide a creatively different perspective. I was also pleasently surprised to find David Byrne to be a rather down to earth, unpretentious, funny and practicle guy. Not quite the artsy uber eccentric I expected, although there are just enough shades of that to keep it interesting. Just wish he would have sticked to the bike path a bit more.
2 of 3 people found the above review helpful.
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STOP MAKING SENSE, November 8, 2009
By Drimble Wedge (Oxfordshire, England)
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The travel bits are the funniest. Although David Byrne records bulletins from as far afield as San Francisco, Buenos Aires, Manila and Istanbul among others, you inevitably turn first to your own city to find out what he thinks of it, and here he is on London: "The buildings mostly remain under 10 stories... The windows everywhere, with lots of little panes and mullions, are significantly more enclosing, sheltering and comforting than giant modern picture windows. The little panes hark back to the countryside, to a mythical simple life." Well, that is all very interesting, you think, but then again, might those buildings not just be old?
Nevertheless there is much sense elsewhere, especially on the subject of the search for personal wellbeing and happiness: the wellspring seems to come from within a close community of varied ages and occupations. The automobile is the villain of the piece, crushing communities as well as cyclists under its wheels, and there is much about the history of urban planning and the tips we can take from, among others, the Colombians on how to make our towns more agreeable places in which to live.
2 of 4 people found the above review helpful.
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It's not really about the bike!, February 8, 2010
By D. Hatcher
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As a keen cyclist I just had to have any book with the provocative title of Bicycle Diaries!
I didn't mind at all when I realised that this was about far more than simply cycling itself. The author's obvious interest in everything that goes on around him made it a fascinating read. Philosophy, architecture, art, music and history made it hard to put down and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone with similar wide interests and concerns about the world.
2 of 3 people found the above review helpful.
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Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne, October 13, 2010
By Mike Rankin (Albuquerque, NM)
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Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne
Bicycle Diaries are a enjoyable collection of thoughts, views, and essays formed by The Talking Heads founder and front-man - David Byrne. Using his fold up bicycle David takes the reader on a trek through American Cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, San Francisco, and New York. He shares interesting sights, and tells of adventures he stumbles upon. Art and music are all important subjects that are enlightened, and interpreted the way only David Byrne can do.
Then it's off to foreign cities such as Berlin, Istanbul, Sidney, and London. Political history is often discussed when it comes to exotic soil. History facts are frequently entertaining, for example when Germany invented a weird sexless popular dance that the government attempted to insert into popular culture as a kind of immunization against Elvis's rock-and-roll gyrations. When biking in Australia, Byrne's experiences are recurrently captivating as we learn the land is full of unpleasant reminders of natures indifference to humans. Poisonous snakes and frogs, spiky plants, toxic spiders, quicksand, and endless deserts, reminding us that we are just guests there.
Byrne reminds us that when on a bicycle our human inner workings are manifested in three dimensions, all around us. Our value and hopes are easy to read, and right there in front of us, such as buildings, museums, temples, and shops. This mix bag of pleasure is gratifying and knowledgeable. The liberating - physical and psychological sensation is more persuasive, than any practical argument about riding a bike. Observing and engaging the landscape with David Byrne will make the reader want to go explore the world on two wheels.
1 of 1 people found the above review helpful.
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Thoughts on culture, globalization, and new ways cities are becoming more bike-friendly, November 16, 2009
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
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BICYCLE DIARIES comes from musician and visual artist David Byrne, who has been riding a bike as his main means of transport in New York City - and who began taking folding bikes around the world when traveling. His observations of his encounters with people around the world include thoughts on culture, globalization, and new ways cities are becoming more bike-friendly, and make this a powerful guide!
1 of 1 people found the above review helpful.
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Kindle version MORE than the paperback?!, April 5, 2010
By Michael King (Boone, nc United States)
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I simply refuse to pay MORE for a digital version of a book than a physical one. I will spend my money with other publishers.
1 of 7 people found the above review helpful.
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A little uneven, July 10, 2011
By D. Jones (Memphis)
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I live in an area that is fighting bike lanes and traffic. I would buy this for every city councilman and traffic coordinator if they would read just the last chapter. Some of the book is uneven but I am recommending it to anyone with an interest in cities and city planning.
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Just So You'll Know..., March 3, 2011
By cretinous layabout (South Carolina)
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The Never-Ending Story does end. And Bicycle Diaries was neither written BY a bicycle, nor exclusively ABOUT one. The complaints I'm reading are like saying, "Twelve Monkeys?! There were hardly ANY monkeys in that movie!" If, however, you've heard of David Byrne and enjoy his particular point of view, you won't disappointed in this book and the THOUGHTS contained therein.
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Not a typical travel log, January 9, 2011
By Rich007
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The major theme is riding bicycles in large cities which is no surprise based on the title. David mostly laments that people don't much ride bicycles to commute and suggests that it is often due to upward mobility and this is a low class of transportation. I think there are many reasons why people don't ride bikes to commute and some major ones are the desire to arrive at work smelling fresh, unpleasant weather, danger from bigger vehicles, no place to park the bike, night time travel, and too long of a commute. I doubt these obstacles could be overcome by better bike paths. I was expecting more stories of meeting and talking to people who did commute by bike.
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Bicycle Diaries, January 31, 2010
By B. Bradley
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Very good book, although not really what I was expecting. It's more like David Byrnes ideas and social commentary, while I thought it would be more about the places he's been. It's still very good though, makes you think.
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Bicycle Diaries is an entertaining travel book, December 29, 2009
By Robert G Yokoyama (Mililani, Hawaii)
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I felt like I travelled around the world with David Byrne reading this book. Bryne is a member of the musical group Talking Heads. I liked reading how he manages to work as a musician and travel at the same time. He writes a song about Imelda Marcos in Manilla and performs in San Francisco and Buenos Aries.
Byrne makes bicycle riding fascinating. I did not know that a bicycle can fold up into the size of a suitcase. Byrne also provides designs of different bicycle racks at the end of the book.
I learned that belly dancing is popular in Istanbul and that karaoke singing is wildly popular in Manilla. I also learned that there a lot of bats in caves and camels on the road in Sydney Australia. I learned some things about geography too. I learned that Istanbul spreads across three continents. There are some fascinating photos of art work in this book. My favorite photo is a picture of a sculpture made entirely of yarn. Another interesting photo is a picture of what a migraine headache looks like. These two beautiful pieces of art can be found in Northern California. I also liked looking at the photos of artifacts that can be found at the Topkapi Palace in Turkey. Bicycle Diaries is one of the most entertaining travel books I have ever read.
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Zooms through cities and humanity..., December 14, 2009
By ewomack (MN USA)
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David Byrne wouldn't deceive us. Never. One of the very first phrases in "Bicycle Diaries" acknowledges that the bicycle theme serves as a "linking device" or as "a means of connecting a lot of thoughts, musings, and anecdotes." so, despite the title, this searingly orange book holds far more than biking tales. Byrne travels. Not only that, he thinks. As he weaves through parkways, freeways and bike friendly or unfirendly cities he offers readers reflections on what it means to possess consciousness in a sack of flesh. Theories of society mingle with anthropological observations on DNA, music, power, art, the environment and other unlikely topics such as deadly funnel-web spiders, George Eastman's somewhat conscientious suicide, camouflage history, and why Rudolph Hess' prison was ground to dust. Byrne never misses an opportunity for a scintillating Shandean digression. Again, he won't deceive: the digressions remain worth following from cover to cover. Let saccadian motion take you away.
The journey zooms through multiple continents, city sections and an amazing array of conceptual ruminations. Byrne paints a rather dismal and desperate picture of the modern United States. Detroit in particular comes off as a wasted dead shell of a once great behemoth. The photo of that city's pockmarked now delicate looking Central Station juxtaposed with a grand Victorian mansion looking like Godzilla crushed it say it all. Yes, photos also pepper the text. Byrne even appears in one of them, rather unintentionally. Photos from Istanbul show hairs and a footprint of the Prophet. The Otto Muehl photos defy description. As he rolls through Berlin, relating stories from the book "Stasiland," the thought occurs to him that communism and capitalism have produced very similar results: hollow buildings, vacant lots and desperation. Musings such as this add a poignant dimension to the city portraits. One of the most fascinating chapters relates a trip to Manila to research his soon to be released project "Here Lies Love." Here Byrne inadvertently enters a whorehouse, sees a "love hotel" emblazoned with a banner reading "closed for the glory of god" and reflects on the mythmaking that Marcos perpetrated on the Philippines. A number of unforgettable stories, images and interesting destinations emerge.
This highly addictive book becomes almost hypnotic in places. Don't expect much insight into Byrne's own music or life (he says he doesn't find his personal life unique or interesting). But do expect a showcase of human desires and values, which Byrne says are "manifested in three dimensions, all around us" and often "embarrassingly easy to read." And also, for those more attuned to the biking life, Byrne offers tips and insights into this widely spreading sport, particularly as it pertains to New York City, where he has become an active contributor to not only policy but to bikeracks (the drawing are in a final section following an appendix comprising some good biking advice). "Bicycle Diaries" will provide brain candy for just about everyone. Even people who despise Byrne's music (perish the thought) can enjoy this strolling funky narrative. Hopefully it will inspire those with the means not only to polish up the chains but, more importantly, to meditate on the direction that our inexplicable human race is careening towards.
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Mr. Byrne's Wild Ride, December 1, 2009
By casagozo
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What a fun, fast, interesting read...whether or not you're into riding your bike. David Byrne is braver than most when it comes to choosing where to ride and where NOT to ride. I've spent some time in a few of the locations he covers (e.g. Berlin, New York), but I don't mind him taking the ride FOR me in a few of these distant cities. He obviously thinks more about his surroundings than your average person does. His historical insights and social commentary keep the ride very entertaining the whole way through the book. It makes you want to join him for his next ride, even if you risk a snicker at your spandex cycling shorts.
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Bicycle Diaries, December 1, 2009
By Hilltopper (WKU)
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I am a fan of David Byrne's work. I found this book to be a wonderful insight to David's personality. I was amused and entertained throughout the entire book. I would encourage any fan of David Byrne to read this book.
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Very fun book, November 29, 2009
By Oregon boy (Brooklyn)
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I really enjoyed this book. I live in his "home base" New York and have traveled to many of the places he has been. I was amazed by his perceptiveness and I enjoyed reading his musings on various subjects (often about architecture or politics) related to these places, especially the chapter on the Phillipines. I also liked the black and white pictures he included. As memoir or as travel writing, I highly recommend this book to other readers.
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Great book, November 14, 2009
By Siobhan Hayes (Richmond, CA)
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I love David Byrne and I love this book. I also ride my bike everywhere and love to travel, so this book is a win-win-win. The chapters are broken down by city so you can randomly choose a chapter to read. He has interesting observations and insights on the culture, architecture, and other aspects of cities that go beyond the random biker's commentary.
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David Byrne has a very Unique and Inquisitive Mind, January 5, 2010
By Michael J. Mcdanell (Pasadena, CA, US)
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I'm about half way through the book and I am very impressed with his insight into the way humans congregate and interact. He acts not as a overbearing rock star, but a tour guide to the heart of the cities he visits.
0 of 1 people found the above review helpful.
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Good idea poorly written, January 19, 2011
By johnlundgren (Bloomington, MN United States)
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Boring as can be. Don't waste your money or time. It could have been/should have been great but instead was just tired dialog.
0 of 2 people found the above review helpful.
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Excellent reading, January 22, 2010
By smallvillenyc (Sunnyside, NY United States)
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So far I have really enjoyed reading this book. I have still to finish but so far so good.
0 of 2 people found the above review helpful.
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his music is better, May 12, 2012
By Frannie1022
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I don't know what I expected, but I found this only mildly interesting (and I'm a big fan of DB's music) -- what was cool was seeing how he lives, how informal, unstructured, just sorta flowing from one city to the next -- seems a real person!
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A ride for all cities . . ., May 1, 2012
By Ken Deshaies (Dillon, CO United States)
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David Byrne is one of the more creative entertainers on the planet. From his seminal band, "Talking Heads", to his foray into film with "True Stories" (a wonderfully engaging and funny movie), he's kept a good part of America talking. It turns out that he had a penchant for bicycling and tended to bring a folding bike along on his tours. Hence, while members of other bands might be out drinking or drugging, David was leisurely bicycling his way through cities and bergs around the world. He found that this type of slowed-down travel allowed him to learn much about the way cities are built, how inhabitants have responded to both the positive and negative aspects of city life, and to meet many of the artists (of all stripe) who bring energy to their environs.
So, while the title may make you think that this is strictly about bicycling, it is so much more. Byrne has a well developed ear for nuance, along with an uncanny ability to convey both the visceral and palliative feelings of those with whom he engages. He brings witness to the contrasts of a bicycle friendly city like Berlin with the less bike friendly and more car designed cities of America. But he offers hope, detailing for example, the major strides in making New York City much more friendly to us two-wheelers. Would that more of our cities were built with that in mind, or lacking that, that their leaders had a conscience that would lead them toward alleviating traffic congestion by encouraging both bicycling and walking.
With people like David Byrne leading the charge, we just might be "on the right path".
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Riding the Mind of David Byrne, February 19, 2012
By Ghost71(jeesh) (The Violent Weather Midwest)
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I bought this bright orange diary 2 years ago and read it in patches when I had the time. It's about bicycling for sure but it could just as easily be retitled, "Urban Travel Blogging with David Byrne". The book was in desperate need of a stronger narrative or more cohesive thesis to thread together all the stories. Did Byrne want to tell us about travel, art, culture, and foreign countries or did he want to tell us about cities and how bikes should be integrated into urban planning? In some ways the book is as random as a bike ride. Despite this confusion there are nuggets of insight that are worth reading, like on pages 2, 124, and 289 -
"Cities, it occurred to me, are physical manifestations of our deepest beliefs and our often unconscious thoughts, not so much as individuals, but as the social animals we are......you don't need CAT scans and cultural anthropologists to show you what's going on inside the human mind; it's inner workings are manifested in three dimensions[in the city landscape], all around us. Our values and hopes are sometimes awfully embarrassingly easy to read. They're right there - in the storefronts, museums, temples, shops, and office buildings and in how these structures interrelate, or sometimes don't. ...Riding a bike through all this is like navigating the collective neural pathways of some vast global mind......Endless variations on familiar themes repeat and recur: triumphant or melancholic, hopeful or resigned, the permutations keep unfolding and multiplying."
"It's often said that proximity doesn't matter so much now - that we have virtual offices and online communities and social networks, so it doesn't matter where we are physically. But I'm skeptical. I think online communities tend to group like with like, which is fine and perfect for some tasks, but sometimes inspiration comes from accidental meetings and encounters with people outside one's own demographic, and that's less likely if you only comunicate with your "friends." "
"....a lot of people in the United States seemed to believe that cities were soon to be things of the past, that modern life could only be properly lived in a suburban house with a yard, linked to the urban workplace - a clump of high-rise office buildings - by a network of highways. One place for working, another for living. L.A. and other similar cities were the wave of the future, and New York, to survive, would be forced to emulate their example. Or so it was thought........As it turned out, most people are now leaning more toward [Jane] Jacob's realization that the formula of separating living and working inevitably results in little actual life taking place in either area. The suburbs became weird quiet bedroom communities where kids are bored out of their skulls. Their parents only sleep or shop there, so for them it doesn't matter - until junior gets into drugs or massacres his classmates."
Also I enjoyed reading about Buenos Aires, Manila, Berlin, London, San Francisco and New York because I've never been to any of those places but I found the book difficult to read and only finished it because I approached it like a newspaper- something different each section and not necessarily connected with yesterdays news. Byrne is a great conceptual artist and one of my favorite musicians/singers but I think "Bicycle Diaries" should be rewritten either to talk exclusively about biking or retitled to emphasis Byrnes City/Travel experiences. The reader should be moving toward some goal that they look forward to attaining at the end of the book besides simply finishing. I think this book would have been better articulated(?) if it was serialized monthly for a travel magazine.
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David Byrne should give up music and become a travel writer, February 15, 2012
By jafrank
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Most of this is only tangentially about bicycling. Byrne is just too interested about too many different things to stick with one topic, and that was fine with me. He bounces giddily between reflections on city planning, geography, history, contemporary art, cultural anthropology, music, etc. The section about Manila and Buenos Aires in particular are extremely interesting, I had no idea about the weird personality cult/pseudo-religion that had developed around the Marcos's, or the bizarre hodgepodge of musical styles that developd in latin america in the last 30 years. I always think of Byrne being kind of a spacehead, but he's refreshingly down to earth, almost pragmatic here. It also made me kind of jealous. Byrne, while maybe not a 'super-star,' is an extremely intelligent, cool person who gets to spend a lot of time with other extremely intelligent, cool people. I wish I could hang out with the guy who invented the powerbook, or fatboy slim, or the city planner who made copenhagen the most bike friendly city on earth. David Byrne should write more books.
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Great potential but turns into an environmentalist's rant..., January 28, 2012
By Jason Kruska (Webster, Texas United States)
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I was very excited to find this book when perusing my local library's shelves. I honestly tried to give the author the benefit of the doubt by sticking with it even after the 1st telltale signs of the author with an agenda and an ax to grind with all of us uneducated cretins with out any understanding of the environmental calamity on our doorstep. I just want to hear about his journeys through the cities without all of the opinions. He also seems to have a major issue with General Motors. He inaccurately refers to one of their new models as some type of a Jeep. Before long he had dropped the F-bomb and it set the tone for me. Overall, I don't recommend this book and wish the author would take a breath and rewrite it without all of the rancor and discontent.
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Watching the World Go By, November 13, 2011
By Arex (Cream City, WI USA)
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I like music. I like Talking Heads. I like bikes. I like books. And I like books/magazines about the experiences of other cyclists. This book was a no-brainer.
I've read some reviews mistaking this book for one about bikes written by David Byrne. I found this a bit confusing. There is a disclaimer in the title explaining it is a diary. Like Ernesto "El Che" Guevara was, Byrne is a well-traveled and thoughtful individual. And, like Motorcycle Diaries, this book by Byrne is meant to share the thoughts of a traveler. Unlike the earlier book, this book records broader travels than South America.
Any political leanings aside, and they ought to be put aside while reading this, Byrne is usually spot on when sharing what he believes is wrong and right with the world. I found it necessary to meditate every few pages or chapter, rather than devour the book in one or two sittings for overall content/message. When it comes down to it, a diary is a meditative exercise of the author. The reader of said diary is not likely to get deep meaning without exercising a bit of meditation him/herself.
Byrne includes photos and some drawings... as well as some thoughts on gear and different types of bicycles. These additions may feel a bit little for the reader looking for a book about bicycling. I found it was ample for a "bicycle book" which is actually a diary written from the saddle of a bike.
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