Sasha Disko
The Devil's Wheels: Men and Motorcycling in the Weimar Republic.
Berghahn Books, 2016. Explorations in Mobility, 2. First edition. 9781785331695 xiv/360 pages.
Hardcover volume, measuring approximately 6.5" x 9.5", is new.
"During the high days of modernization fever, among the many disorienting changes Germans experienced in the Weimar Republic was an unprecedented mingling of consumption and identity: increasingly, what one bought signaled who one was. Exemplary of this volatile dynamic was the era’s burgeoning motorcycle culture. With automobiles largely a luxury of the upper classes, motorcycles complexly symbolized masculinity and freedom, embodying a widespread desire to embrace progress as well as profound anxieties over the course of social transformation. Through its richly textured account of the motorcycle as both icon and commodity, "The Devil’s Wheels" teases out the intricacies of gender and class in the Weimar years."