Randy D. McBee

Born to Be Wild: The Rise of the American Motorcyclist Randy D. McBee

Commendation Quotes: This book is at once a social history of the motorcycle and a provocation for rethinking the political realignments of the second half of the twentieth century. A rich sense of contradiction and a deep understanding of how political struggle can inflect the same slogans and themes with widely divergent meanings together elevate this book beyond a useful and interesting study of a hobby into a profound rumination on the role of culture in political life.--George Lipsitz, University of California, Santa BarbaraCommendation Quotes: "Born to Be Wild" offers the definitive history of motorcycling in post@ World War II America. Drawing on meticulous primary research with great nuance and depth, Randy McBee provides a compelling and valuable corrective to books and films that have exploited minor, salacious incidents sparked by a minority of motorcyclists. His book will be an indispensable resource for scholars of motorcycling. Given its sustained attention to the complexities of gender, race, class, and ethnicity, "Born to Be Wild" should also be required reading for historians, sociologists, transportation enthusiasts, and those simply curious about this transformative period in American culture.--Steven Alford and Suzanne Ferriss, authors of "Motorcycle""Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.; This work explores the evolution of motorcycle culture since World War II. Along the way Randy D. McBee examines the rebelliousness of early riders of the 1940s and 1950s, riders' increasing connection to violence and the counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s, the rich urban bikers of the 1990s and 2000s, and the factors that gave rise to a motorcycle rights movement. Review Citations:

Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2015 (EAN 9781469622729, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  McBee, Randy D Randy D. McBee is associate professor of history at Texas Tech University, where he teaches courses in recent U. S. history and social history.