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The Perfect Vehicle: What it is About Motorcycles


Melissa Holbrook Pierson

From my mother I learned to write prompt thank-you notes for a variety of occasions; from Mrs. King's ballroom dancing school I learned a proper curtsey and, believe it or not, what to do if presented with nine eating utensils at the same place setting, presumably at the home of the hosts to whom I had just curtsied. From motorcycles I learned practically everything else.

This is one of the most *interesting* motorcycle books I've read. Part historical (she relates the origins of motorcycling and some famous names along the way), part autobiographical (almost the entire book is told through anecdotes of her own in learning to ride and experiences she's had), Pierson is a fun writer to read and has a good story to tell. I enjoyed how she made the book intimate by relating stories of the ex-boyfriend who got her into bikes and the ex-boyfriend who serviced her Moto Guzzi, not to mention the way she really gets across the *passion* for motorcycling. There are whole sections of introspection and analysis where she describes how riding makes her feel and why she loves it; it's hard not to nod your head along with her and say, "hey, yeah, me too."

Buy it from Whitehorse Press