Yes, it's in English

9/ The book was launched at the T2M conference last week by some of the authors and editors. It would be wonderful if it inspires similar place-specific, historically grounded studies of cycling cultures in Latin America and Asia!

8/ Most chapters show how relevant the bicycle remains today and what potential it can play in creating more sustainable, liveable, and playful urban environments in African cities.

7/ Several authors also show how a culture of ‘bikesmithing’, tinkering and repair emerged around transport bicycles. Bicycles often had to be reinforced to be able to function as vehicles for transporting agricultural products to markets.

6/ In the post-independence (and Cold War) context, some countries emphasized domestic manufacture and import substitution, creating their own bicycle industries that competed with imports from Asian and European brands.

5/ Often first introduced by missionaries or colonial administrators, colonial powers did not manage to restrict access to bicycles or control everyday mobility. Many authors show how workers accessed and used bicycles in the first half of the twentieth century.

4/ The book sheds a completely new light on the history of mobility in Africa and is the first detailed, book-length study of cycling in the Global South, revealing similarities but also striking differences with existing cycling histories.

3/ It covers 17 cities in Egypt (Cairo), Mali (Bamako), Ghana (Tamale), Nigeria (Kano, Aba), Cameroon (Douala), Uganda (Kampala, Gulu), Kenya (Nairobi, Kisumu), Tanzania (Dar es Salaam), Zambia (Chipata), Malawi (Mzuzu, Zomba), Mozambique (Maputo), and South Africa (Cape Town, Johannesburg).

2/ The book is very well researched, accessibly written, illustrated with many fantastic photographs, and full of suprising stories. It's also a great example of collaborative scholarship led by a team including Njogu Morgan, Yusuf Madugu, Ruth Oldenziel, and Peter Norton @norton.bsky.social.

The takeover of Amsterdam University Press by Taylor & Francis apparently means that a more affordable paperback version is forthcoming but unfortunately the open access ebook has become a bit harder to find. It should still be available here: library.oapen.org/handle/20.50...

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