Reviews

Revolutions by Hannah Ross

jsant's review against another edition

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informative inspiring slow-paced

3.75

An examination of the evolution of the bicycle, the sport of cycling, and women. Some interesting facts, stories and perspectives. 

There's a lot of opportunity to make cycling more welcoming to people of all genders and ethnicities, at all levels of the sport. 

Specific to the audio book, Iwish the narrator had been British. The author is British and sometimes refers to their own history with cycling in England. Hearing the first person perspective of a British author with a American accent is a bit weird. 

icbikecommuter's review against another edition

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4.0

When I picked up this book I wondered if the title had a double meaning, such that the book was about women who were poltically radical AND also rode bikes. Subtly the book really is about women who pushed the societal norms. I am so embarassed to say, that almost every women mentioned in this book was new to me. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about all of the women cyclists before me that have pushed the norms and encouraged women to get on a bike.

rhour3's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

3.0

A comprehensive history of women cyclists and the pursuit of equality on and off the track/road. Food for thought.

deepwinterodd's review against another edition

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2.0

There was so much and so many names and dates and more names, and my memory and attention span are not what they were, so I got overwhelmed and had to lie down.

But the chapter examining women's historical and present-day access to bikes in Afghanistan and Iran was superb.

kellylikesbooks's review against another edition

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5.0

I enjoyed this deep dive book so much. Non cyclists would enjoy it but if you bike at all or want to, it’s a must read!

How did she fit in so many topics and stories?! The 2010’s parts about pro racer pay was eye opening. The amount of women who biked thru their pregnancies like I did… who have been harassed on their bikes like i have… who commute by bike like I do… bikes with their kiddos like i did.. I truly love all the details. The 1860-1900s parts inspired me to look up the infamous “legs” bike race illustration. No spoilers but she inspired me to do a long cycling tour. Feels like I discovered that I come from a long line of badass cycling ancestors I never knew that I had. I definitely see myself Re-listening to this one.

Last yr I did my first Triathlon at age 40. I had no prior swim or bike race experience but I LOVED it so much, primarily because it was an inclusive all women’s event, with so much care and support given especially to first time triathletes like myself. This is like the book version of that race weekend.

golassc's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

4.0

amysreading_nook's review against another edition

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informative fast-paced

5.0

Number: 72

Re-read: No

Rating: *****

Thoughts: An absolutely fascinating exploration of the history of women's cycling, I often found myself recounting facts to my mum as I was reading this book - both being big fans of the Tour de France we were horrified to realise how long it took for the women to have their own version. Would highly recommend this book, such an interesting read. 

Bookshelf: Nestled safely in my non-fiction shelf.

okapipo's review against another edition

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informative inspiring reflective

3.5

Kein schlechtes Buch, nur leider irgendwann eine recht repetitive Nacherzählung einzelner krasser (Sport-) Biographien, ohne viel neues zu sagen?
Insgesamt deswegen bisschen enttäuschend, Perspektiven und Schlussfolgerungen hätten deutlich weiter gehen können.

tophat8855's review against another edition

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4.0

Whew! It took me a while to get through this book because it got lost in the house for over a month and the library kept renewing it. I did eventually finish, though!

The beginning was bumpy for me. This is a nonfiction collection of stories of women on bicycles and it's organized in a couple of ways: thematically and chronologically. And within the themed chapters, organized somewhat chronologically, there are lots of stories and it felt disconnected. But I got used to it and fell into the swing of things in the last 2/3 or so.

I knew some of the stories already, having read Dervla Murphy's travelogue/memoir, and the biography on Annie Londonderry. I was unsure about reading the last couple of chapters, which focus mostly on racing as I'm mostly a bicyclist who bikes to get places and not to race. But I've been convinced to try cyclocross.

tedgluxe's review against another edition

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adventurous informative inspiring medium-paced

3.0

A bit too white western centric, but some interesting stories