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by Pete Jordan (Author)
Pete Jordan, author of the wildly popular Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States, is back with a memoir that tells the story of his love affair with Amsterdam, the city of bikes, all the while unfolding an unknown history of the city's cycling, from the craze of the 1890s, through the Nazi occupation, to the bike-centric culture adored by the world today.
Pete never planned to stay long in Amsterdam, just a semester. But he quickly falls in love with the city and soon his wife, Amy Joy, joins him. Together they explore every inch of their new home on two wheels, their rides a respite from the struggles that come with starting a new life in a new country.
Weaving together personal anecdotes and details of the role that cycling has played throughout Dutch history, Pete Jordan's In the City of Bikes: The Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist is a poignant and entertaining read.
This unforgettable blend of travelogue and history reveals:
- Cycling Culture: How Amsterdam became the city of bikes, where cyclists rule the streets and even pregnant women pedal through town.
- A Unique Urban History: The forgotten story of the city's cyclists, from the bike craze of the 1890s to the bike thieves and fishermen of today.
- World War II Nonfiction: A gripping account of the Nazi occupation, the mass confiscation of bicycles, and how two wheels became a tool of the Dutch Resistance.
- Expat Life in the Netherlands: The funny, poignant, and relatable story of an American who falls in love with a city, a woman, and a new way of life on two wheels.
Front Jacket
When Pete Jordan arrives in Amsterdam to study how to make America's cities more bicycle-friendly, he immediately falls in love with the city that already lives life on two wheels. His new bride, Amy Joy, joins Pete, and despite their financial hardships and instability, she eventually finds her own new calling as a bicycle mechanic as Pete discovers the untold history of cycling in Amsterdam.
From its beginnings as an elitis t pastime in the 1890s to the street-consuming craze of the 1920s, from the bicycle's role in a citywide resistance to the Nazi occupation to the White Bikes of the 1960s and the bike fishermen of today, Jordan chronicles the evolution of Amsterdam's cycling.
Part personal memoir, part history of cycling, part fascinating street-level tour of Amsterdam, In the City of Bikes is the story of a man who loves bikes--in a city that loves bikes.
--New York Journal of BooksBack Jacket
When Pete Jordan arrives in Amsterdam to study how to make America's cities more bicycle-friendly, he immediately falls in love with the city that already lives life on two wheels. His new bride, Amy Joy, joins Pete, and despite their financial hardships and instability, she eventually finds her own new calling as a bicycle mechanic as Pete discovers the untold history of cycling in Amsterdam.
From its beginnings as an elitis t pastime in the 1890s to the street-consuming craze of the 1920s, from the bicycle's role in a citywide resistance to the Nazi occupation to the White Bikes of the 1960s and the bike fishermen of today, Jordan chronicles the evolution of Amsterdam's cycling.
Part personal memoir, part history of cycling, part fascinating street-level tour of Amsterdam, In the City of Bikes is the story of a man who loves bikes--in a city that loves bikes.
