A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-04 16:21:03
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Tom Standage
- ISBN：1635573610
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Summary
From the bestselling author of A History of the World in 6 Glasses， an eye-opening road trip through 5，500 years of humans on the go， revealing how transportation inevitably shapes civilization。
Tom Standage's fleet-footed and surprising global histories have delighted readers and cemented his reputation as one of our leading interpreters of technologies past and present。 Now， he returns with a provocative account of a sometimes-overlooked form of technology-personal transportation-and explores how it has shaped societies and cultures over millennia。
Beginning around 3，500 BCE with the wheel--a device that didn't catch on until a couple thousand years after its invention--Standage zips through the eras of horsepower， trains， and bicycles， revealing how each successive mode of transit embedded itself in the world we live in， from the geography of our cities to our experience of time to our notions of gender。 Then， delving into the history of the automobile's development， Standage explores the social resistance to cars and the upheaval that their widespread adoption required。 Cars changed how the world was administered， laid out， and policed， how it looked， sounded， and smelled--and not always in the ways we might have preferred。
Today--after the explosive growth of ride-sharing and years of breathless predictions about autonomous vehicles--the social transformations spurred by coronavirus and overshadowed by climate change create a unique opportunity to critically reexamine our relationship to the car。 With A Brief History of Motion， Standage overturns myths， considers roads not taken， and invites us to look at our past with fresh eyes so we can create the future we want to see。
Tom Standage's fleet-footed and surprising global histories have delighted readers and cemented his reputation as one of our leading interpreters of technologies past and present。 Now， he returns with a provocative account of a sometimes-overlooked form of technology-personal transportation-and explores how it has shaped societies and cultures over millennia。
Beginning around 3，500 BCE with the wheel--a device that didn't catch on until a couple thousand years after its invention--Standage zips through the eras of horsepower， trains， and bicycles， revealing how each successive mode of transit embedded itself in the world we live in， from the geography of our cities to our experience of time to our notions of gender。 Then， delving into the history of the automobile's development， Standage explores the social resistance to cars and the upheaval that their widespread adoption required。 Cars changed how the world was administered， laid out， and policed， how it looked， sounded， and smelled--and not always in the ways we might have preferred。
Today--after the explosive growth of ride-sharing and years of breathless predictions about autonomous vehicles--the social transformations spurred by coronavirus and overshadowed by climate change create a unique opportunity to critically reexamine our relationship to the car。 With A Brief History of Motion， Standage overturns myths， considers roads not taken， and invites us to look at our past with fresh eyes so we can create the future we want to see。
Reviews
Jeff
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Interesting Overview。 Needs Bibliography。 It is actually somewhat interesting to me that of five reviews on Goodreads prior to this one， one of the reviewers specifically notes a lack of footnotes as a *good* thing。。。 and this very thing is actually pretty well the only thing I could find to *ding* this text on。 But I'm fairly consistent in that - no matter what， I expect a fact-based （vs more memoir-based） nonfiction title to include and reference a decent sized bibliography。That noted， the sub Interesting Overview。 Needs Bibliography。 It is actually somewhat interesting to me that of five reviews on Goodreads prior to this one， one of the reviewers specifically notes a lack of footnotes as a *good* thing。。。 and this very thing is actually pretty well the only thing I could find to *ding* this text on。 But I'm fairly consistent in that - no matter what， I expect a fact-based （vs more memoir-based） nonfiction title to include and reference a decent sized bibliography。That noted， the substance of this text was well-written， approachable， at times amusing， and full of facts from a wide range of eras that this reader had not previously known。 Even in the chapter on the development of driverless cars - much more thoroughly documented in DRIVEN by Alex Davies - there were a few facts that even having read that book and being a professional software developer （and thus more generally aware of tech than some）， I genuinely didn't know before reading this book。 Preceding chapters tracing the development of transportation during the 19th and early 20th centuries in particular were utterly fascinating， as was later coverage of the potential future for a car-less society。 Remarkably well balanced， the text tends to steer clear - pun absolutely intended - of various relevant controversies （climate change， Peak Oil， Peak Car， autonomous vehicles， car-less society， etc） even while discussing said controversies' impact on society and future developments。 Truly a solid examination of its topic， and very much recommended。 。。。more
Kim McGee
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3 1/2 starsI was a big fan of one of his earlier works - A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN SIX GLASSES and this journey is all about wheels。 From one of the first documented pictures of a wheel around 3500 BCE to the start of automobiles and the post car years ahead， this journey began with a way to get from point a to point b easier。 It progressed to faster and now every point in-between。 The author does a great job of connecting the dots between how one idea led into another and includes a bit of triv 3 1/2 starsI was a big fan of one of his earlier works - A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN SIX GLASSES and this journey is all about wheels。 From one of the first documented pictures of a wheel around 3500 BCE to the start of automobiles and the post car years ahead， this journey began with a way to get from point a to point b easier。 It progressed to faster and now every point in-between。 The author does a great job of connecting the dots between how one idea led into another and includes a bit of trivia into his well researched points。 For transportation historians， engineers or lovers of moving faster and easier through life。 My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy。 。。。more
J Earl
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A Brief History of Motion by Tom Standage is an interesting and fairly comprehensive history of motion as long as one knows how the word motion is used in the title。 This is not a history of travel， so don't expect that story。 This is using motion almost in the narrow sense of how one， or a small number， person moves around。I would also advise readers that while this history ultimately becomes about cars and their future， this isn't a history of the automotive industry （all makers and the small A Brief History of Motion by Tom Standage is an interesting and fairly comprehensive history of motion as long as one knows how the word motion is used in the title。 This is not a history of travel， so don't expect that story。 This is using motion almost in the narrow sense of how one， or a small number， person moves around。I would also advise readers that while this history ultimately becomes about cars and their future， this isn't a history of the automotive industry （all makers and the small changes that make one model better than another） but about the large scale shifts leading to the automobile and then subsequent changes that provoked， or will provoke， major shifts in how we move around。Having said all that， this very interesting and informative book covers the history of transport， essentially as it pertains to wheels in various combinations。 What effect did horse manure have in motivating change？ How did the rail system， including short commuter rail as well as long distance rail， affect where attention was paid？ Where might we go from here？This is a book that should appeal to most readers who enjoy social history， history told through the lens of a specific item （the wheel） as it changes over time， and changes society over time。Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more
Bandit
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An excellent， edifying， erudite primer that wheels and deals in information on all things motion related。 In the beginning there was a wheel and， surprisingly enough， it wasn’t all that popular at first。 Then it became all the rage and got a companion wheel。 Enter cart （or a chariot if you’re fancy）。 But mostly a cart of some sort as in a small utility vehicle dragged along by some sort of an animal。 Not the most efficient thing， but it stayed that way for centuries。 Then the Industrial Age rol An excellent， edifying， erudite primer that wheels and deals in information on all things motion related。 In the beginning there was a wheel and， surprisingly enough， it wasn’t all that popular at first。 Then it became all the rage and got a companion wheel。 Enter cart （or a chariot if you’re fancy）。 But mostly a cart of some sort as in a small utility vehicle dragged along by some sort of an animal。 Not the most efficient thing， but it stayed that way for centuries。 Then the Industrial Age rolled around and everyone got chariotfancy and inventionhappy。 And soon there were all sorts of fascinating inventions for daringly animal free locomotion。 Some of it turned into bicycles and most of it turned into cars。 Eventually。 After a series of various stabs at it from a variety of directions。 And then cars took over the world。 Now that’s brief。 The book expands on all these things in twelve informative chapters that chronologically trace not only the progress of motion， but also the social， political and economical ramifications of it。 And it’s genuinely fascinating。 Even for people with no special interest in cars。 Because it’s more than a story of motion， it’s a story on the world。 Since US is the leading car producer， user， etc。 it steals the focus of the book。 Right after all those Europeans get done inventing things， American comes along and makes them。 In bulk。 And so beginning with the Ford / GM rivalry of the early 20th century and right up to the present day with car production finally， finally， possibly on a downslide thanks to the numerous ride sharing options and potential of self driving vehicles and so on…you’ll get to know all about why Americans are so obsessed with cars and how this obsession has shaped the way they live。 I already said fascinating， but it’s really such an apt descriptor here。 This was just so well done。 All the things I value in nonfiction…smart， accessibly written， succinct， with plenty of visual aid and not dragged down by footnotes （at least in the ARC edition）。 Gave me lots to ponder too。 You learn and learn and it’s fun the entire time。 I really enjoyed this book and it provided a most excellent introduction to a new to me author。 Recommended。 Thanks Netgalley。This and more at https://advancetheplot。weebly。com/ 。。。more
Steve
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Interesting but restricted in scopeI enjoyed this book。 I found it interesting and well-written， with some clever wording。 The book does veer off a few times to give historical context， for example the rise of fast foods。 While interesting， it did nothing to help tell the story of motion。 I also found that there was little history of the automobile industry outside of the United States。 Overall though， it is worth reading。 Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the advance reader c Interesting but restricted in scopeI enjoyed this book。 I found it interesting and well-written， with some clever wording。 The book does veer off a few times to give historical context， for example the rise of fast foods。 While interesting， it did nothing to help tell the story of motion。 I also found that there was little history of the automobile industry outside of the United States。 Overall though， it is worth reading。 Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the advance reader copy。 。。。more
Patrick Pilz
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