eShop USA > Books > Around The World On Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry's Extraordinary Ride
Around The World On Two Wheels: Annie Londonderry's Extraordinary Ride
List Price: $14.95Our Price: $10.17 You Save: $4.78 (32%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 796
EAN: 9780806530666
Edition: Reprint
ISBN: 0806530669
Label: Citadel Press
Manufacturer: Citadel Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 161
Publication Date: October 01, 2008
Publisher: Citadel Press
Release Date: September 30, 2008
Studio: Citadel Press
Related Items:
Editorial Review:
Until 1894 there were no female sport stars, no product endorsement deals, and no young mothers with the chutzpah to circle the globe on a bicycle. Annie Kopchovsky changed all of that.
Annie was a Jewish immigrant and working mother of three living in a Boston tenement with her husband, a peddler. This was as close to the American dream as she was likely to get--until she became part of what one newspaper called "one of the most novel wagers ever made": a high-stakes bet between two wealthy merchants that a woman could not ride around the world on a bicycle, as Thomas Stevens had a few years before. Annie rose to the challenge, pledging to finish her fifteen-month trip with a staggering $5,000 earned by selling advertising space on her bike and her clothing, making personal appearances in stores and at bicycle races, and lecturing about her adventures along the way. When the Londonderry Lithia Springs Water Company of New Hampshire offered to become the first of her many sponsors, Annie Kopchovsky became Annie Londonderry, and a legend was born. So began one of the greatest escapades--and publicity stunts--of the Victorian Age.
In this marvelously written book, author Peter Zheutlin vividly recounts the story of the audacious woman who turned every Victorian notion of female propriety on its ear. When Annie left Boston in June 1894, she was a brash young lady with a 42-pound bicycle, a revolver, a change of underwear, and a dream of freedom. The epic journey that followed--from a frigid ride through France to an encounter with outlaw John Wesley Hardin in El Paso--took the connection between athletics and commercialism to dizzying new heights and turned Annie into a symbol of sexual equality.
A beguiling true story of a bold spirit who reinvented herself against all odds, Around the World on Two Wheels blends social history and high adventure into an unforgettable portrait of courage, imagination and tenacity.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - The greatest con of the world...
Annie Kopchovshy decided to ride around the world on a bike. So she changed her name to Annie Londonderry, conned half the planet in helping her ride around the world, mostly on trains and steamboats, and made money while doing it. An interesting story? Why, yes. An amazing woman? Yes. Smart? Yes. Amoral? Sure. A con artist? Yes. Did she lie and cheat and act self centered? Yes. Did she leave behind her husband and kids during her travels? Yes.
Interesting, daring, and a great ... Read More
Rating: - A MUST READ! Required Reading For All Ages.
Instead of running to buy this book, bicycle there! I could not stop reading the story, and finished it over the weekend based upon my father's enthusiastic recommendation. What an amazing true story Peter Z. has discovered, digging from his family tree. This would make a blockbuster movie. It would secure at least an oscar nomination for the lucky actress who gets the role of Annie Londonberry, perhaps someone such as Natalie Portman?
Mr. Zheutlin is an erudite story teller and I can't wait ... Read More
Rating: - a great tale well told
"Around the World on Two Wheels" is the fascinating and highly amusing tale of how Annie Kopchovsky, a Jewish immigrant and mother of three living in Boston in the 1890s, singlehandedly reinvented herself as "Annie Londonderry," the subject of a high stakes wager over whether it was possible for a woman to cycle around the world. While the wager and much of Annie's recollection of her journey is apocryphal, she did succeed in circling the globe, all the time spinning fantastic travel tales to willing and ... Read More
Rating: - One of the best biographies I've ever read!
An extraordinary story! Peter Zheutlin, a descendant of Annie Londonderry's brother, has researched and written her incredible adventure. With all her claims, her outrageous self-promotion, her character flaws, Annie Londonderry has emerged again as one of modern women's most outstanding pioneers and role models. Her story--and this book--is inspiring, fun, and memorable. It is a stiring tale of one woman's incredible adventure, a provocative and thoughtful example of women's suffrage, and a tale of the Old ... Read More
Rating: - My Next Book Club Selection!
This true story of Annie (Kopchovsky)Londonderry is an exhilarating and fascinating romp through history with a companion the reader can't help but admire for her gumption, cleverness, and determination.
Annie was the first woman to ride her bicycle around the world, possibly as part of a contest. It's just as likely, however, that she fabricated an excuse to travel because she felt claustrophobic, trapped within the societal constraints placed on women during the Victorian era. The author, Peter ... Read More
Related Categories:
| |
 |
