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A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next
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.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published August 17, 2021
151 people are currently reading
4120 people want to read
About the author
Tom Standage
18 books537 followersTom Standage is a journalist and author from England. A graduate of Oxford University, he has worked as a science and technology writer for The Guardian, as the business editor at The Economist, has been published in Wired, The New York Times, and The Daily Telegraph, and has published five books, including The Victorian Internet[1][2]. This book explores the historical development of the telegraph and the social ramifications associated with this development. Tom Standage also proposes that if Victorians from the 1800s were to be around today, they would be far from impressed with present Internet capabilities. This is because the development of the telegraph essentially mirrored the development of the Internet. Both technologies can be seen to have largely impacted the speed and transmission of information and both were widely criticised by some, due to their perceived negative consequences.
Standage has taken part in various key media events. He recently participated in ictQATAR's "Media Connected" forum for journalists in Qatar, where he discussed the concept of technology journalism around the world and how technology is expected to keep transforming the world of journalism in the Middle East and all around the world.
-Wikipedia
Standage has taken part in various key media events. He recently participated in ictQATAR's "Media Connected" forum for journalists in Qatar, where he discussed the concept of technology journalism around the world and how technology is expected to keep transforming the world of journalism in the Middle East and all around the world.
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
June 7, 2024
"The first person in history to use an automobile in a recognizably modern way - simply to get from point A to B - was Bertha Benz, wife of Carl Benz [namesake of the eventual Mercedes-Benz automaking brand]. Early on an August morning in 1888, and without telling her husband, she and her two teenaged sons climbed aboard a three-wheeled prototype 'Motorwagen' and set forth on a [sixty-five mile] road trip. Her aim was to demonstrate to her husband that his invention, which had previously been tested only in the courtyard of his workshop, was reliable enough to be used for long distance travel." -- on page 51
Standage's A Brief History of Motion worked best for me when strictly adhering its focus to the first half of the subtitle, that being the From the Wheel, to the Car portion. Beginning with an introduction that starkly advises readers that metropolises like New York City and London, circa 1895, each had 150,000+ horses within their jurisdictions for both transportation and commerce . . . meaning that each steed produced an average of 22 pounds of manure each day (!). Something better (or different) had to be devised, and thus we have the birth of the automobile. But get in, sit down, and buckle up that seatbelt as author Standage first travels back to the invention and acceptance of the wheel itself (leading to simple wagons and chariots), the proliferation of locomotives / bicycles / coaches, and THEN that 'horseless carriage' invention arriving on the scene at the dawn of the 20th century. From there it's a quick tour of newly written traffic legislation and codes (such as two Detroit police officers conceiving both the standard stop sign AND three-color traffic control signal in 1915, both of which are still in use) , vehicle safety features / advancements, and some other aspects (such as drive-in theaters and drive-thru options at the fast-food facilities) that sprouted because of the 'car culture.' Of a bit less interest to me were the final few chapters centering on conjectures or educated guesses about what the future holds for the automobile. Still, the initial 180 or so pages were a well-paced escapade that was sort of fun to read while also being (gasp!) easygoingly educational.
Standage's A Brief History of Motion worked best for me when strictly adhering its focus to the first half of the subtitle, that being the From the Wheel, to the Car portion. Beginning with an introduction that starkly advises readers that metropolises like New York City and London, circa 1895, each had 150,000+ horses within their jurisdictions for both transportation and commerce . . . meaning that each steed produced an average of 22 pounds of manure each day (!). Something better (or different) had to be devised, and thus we have the birth of the automobile. But get in, sit down, and buckle up that seatbelt as author Standage first travels back to the invention and acceptance of the wheel itself (leading to simple wagons and chariots), the proliferation of locomotives / bicycles / coaches, and THEN that 'horseless carriage' invention arriving on the scene at the dawn of the 20th century. From there it's a quick tour of newly written traffic legislation and codes (such as two Detroit police officers conceiving both the standard stop sign AND three-color traffic control signal in 1915, both of which are still in use) , vehicle safety features / advancements, and some other aspects (such as drive-in theaters and drive-thru options at the fast-food facilities) that sprouted because of the 'car culture.' Of a bit less interest to me were the final few chapters centering on conjectures or educated guesses about what the future holds for the automobile. Still, the initial 180 or so pages were a well-paced escapade that was sort of fun to read while also being (gasp!) easygoingly educational.
September 7, 2021
Interesting and entertaining pop-history (pop-techno history?) that on the whole feels a little lightweight. That said, there was a lot of good history around the development of the automobile, and I especially enjoyed the sections talking about why the internal combustion engine won out over its steam and electrical rivals. There wasn't much of an organizing theme, but the chapters were written in a breezy style that was fun to read.
January 6, 2022
Výborné, ak vás len trochu zaujíma doprava a to, ako formuje naše prostredie a mestá. Z časti história, z menšej časti bleskový prehľad, aký je dnešný stav a kam jednotlivé línie rozvoja (elektrické autá, autonómia..) smerujú. Veľa vtipných "veď to bolo presne ako dnes!" momentov, dozviete sa, ako to bolo naozaj s legendou, že autá sa presadili vďaka tomu, že po koňoch zostávalo na uliciach priveľa trusu, výborná aj časť, ako elektrická autá dominovali svetu pred 120 rokmi a prečo ich vytlačil spaľovací motor.
July 1, 2021
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.
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.
December 28, 2021
A great pairing of another book I just read, Green Metropolis by David Owen. Both books question the hard assumption that cars are simply givens in our society. In fact, as Standage explores in this book, they are products of technology and commerce, spanning thousands of years back but only recently redefining our cities and suburbs.
Cars, and everything they’ve shaped, are not forgone conclusions, but rather “a reminder that seemingly unimportant decisions can have consequences decades or even centuries later.” The social, political, and technical ramifications of our car-centric society are even more clear when we look back in history and apply these lessons to the future of transportation, one in which the smart phone is taking over the car as a truly transformative technology (that, by the way, combines transportation options — scooters, ride sharing and hailing, bikes, and maps — in favor of straight-up car ownership).
Part history, part critique, the book spans thousands of years back to the first wheel and its slow implementation in war, construction, agriculture, sports, and eventually transportation. We get a brief history of the differences between horse riding (masc.) and carriage riding (fem.) that comes to foreshadow the difference between combustion engines and electric batteries years later.
We also get common themes, like the democratization of travel, as more and more technologies that are first only available to the wealthy elite are eventually made affordable and therefore accessible to the masses, opening up whole new cultures, as was the case of the social impact on teenagers.
Standage also presents the economic and capitalistic implications of cars, the familiar story of Henry Ford and the Model T, while giving a more fuller history of its origins and progression, as well as its inability to stay relevant against the more dynamic General Motors company. As cars become less novelties, people want more options, a concept that propelled GM to the top of car manufacturing, as recounted in the “You are what you drive” chapter.
Perhaps my favorite chapters concerned the urban design and transformation that took place in the wake of the car boom, specifically in post war America and how the car industry, whose products are still extremely dangerous, put the onus on pedestrians rather than drivers or vehicles, coalescing in penalizing jaywalking, which created the notion that cars, not pedestrians, owned the street (sigh).
“Deciding that cars ruled the roads was a choice made by political leaders, encouraged by powerful car-industry lobbies, when the supremacy of the car seemed inevitable and inescapable,” writes Standage in a passage that makes me want to scream to the gods. “But no matter how much street space is located to cars, it’s never enough.”
Just as influential is how cars shaped our very physical infrastructure, leading to the creation of fast food, drive in movies, shopping malls, supermarkets, and of course, suburbs. As cars, like other public transit, allows people to move faster and further, it gives them incentive to sprawl (zoning and highways further encourages/exacerbates this problem).
Standage leaves us with three lessons that the history of motion offers for the future: 1. We should be weary of replacing one monoculture with another (e.g. cars for autonomous cars), and with a mixed system (buses, Ubers, scooters, etc.) there is less danger of path dependency; 2. All technologies have unintended consequences (highways, inequality, suburbs); and 3. We must closely scrutinize the nasty unanticipated long-term impacts of transportation revolutions (pollution, data mining, tracking, etc.).
As Standage writes, it is 1895 again, and we’re at the eve of another transportation revolution, with concerns about traffic, safety, and the environment front and center: “The future is not predetermined… we now have can opportunity to learn from history and choose a way forward in which the world is no longer build around the automobile.”
Cars, and everything they’ve shaped, are not forgone conclusions, but rather “a reminder that seemingly unimportant decisions can have consequences decades or even centuries later.” The social, political, and technical ramifications of our car-centric society are even more clear when we look back in history and apply these lessons to the future of transportation, one in which the smart phone is taking over the car as a truly transformative technology (that, by the way, combines transportation options — scooters, ride sharing and hailing, bikes, and maps — in favor of straight-up car ownership).
Part history, part critique, the book spans thousands of years back to the first wheel and its slow implementation in war, construction, agriculture, sports, and eventually transportation. We get a brief history of the differences between horse riding (masc.) and carriage riding (fem.) that comes to foreshadow the difference between combustion engines and electric batteries years later.
We also get common themes, like the democratization of travel, as more and more technologies that are first only available to the wealthy elite are eventually made affordable and therefore accessible to the masses, opening up whole new cultures, as was the case of the social impact on teenagers.
Standage also presents the economic and capitalistic implications of cars, the familiar story of Henry Ford and the Model T, while giving a more fuller history of its origins and progression, as well as its inability to stay relevant against the more dynamic General Motors company. As cars become less novelties, people want more options, a concept that propelled GM to the top of car manufacturing, as recounted in the “You are what you drive” chapter.
Perhaps my favorite chapters concerned the urban design and transformation that took place in the wake of the car boom, specifically in post war America and how the car industry, whose products are still extremely dangerous, put the onus on pedestrians rather than drivers or vehicles, coalescing in penalizing jaywalking, which created the notion that cars, not pedestrians, owned the street (sigh).
“Deciding that cars ruled the roads was a choice made by political leaders, encouraged by powerful car-industry lobbies, when the supremacy of the car seemed inevitable and inescapable,” writes Standage in a passage that makes me want to scream to the gods. “But no matter how much street space is located to cars, it’s never enough.”
Just as influential is how cars shaped our very physical infrastructure, leading to the creation of fast food, drive in movies, shopping malls, supermarkets, and of course, suburbs. As cars, like other public transit, allows people to move faster and further, it gives them incentive to sprawl (zoning and highways further encourages/exacerbates this problem).
Standage leaves us with three lessons that the history of motion offers for the future: 1. We should be weary of replacing one monoculture with another (e.g. cars for autonomous cars), and with a mixed system (buses, Ubers, scooters, etc.) there is less danger of path dependency; 2. All technologies have unintended consequences (highways, inequality, suburbs); and 3. We must closely scrutinize the nasty unanticipated long-term impacts of transportation revolutions (pollution, data mining, tracking, etc.).
As Standage writes, it is 1895 again, and we’re at the eve of another transportation revolution, with concerns about traffic, safety, and the environment front and center: “The future is not predetermined… we now have can opportunity to learn from history and choose a way forward in which the world is no longer build around the automobile.”
January 7, 2022
Transportation of men and material from one location to another in a fast and efficient manner is an indicator of civilizational progress when taken over a large interval of time. I insist on having the disclaimer on time because in most cities and urban landscapes of the world, transportation speed and efficiency is considerably less than what it were a half-century ago. However, a liberating breakthrough is sure to occur and take human progress to the next level. That is the lesson we learn from the history of various cultures and their technology. Innovative technologies often initially present themselves with potential for doubt and confusion about its feasibility. Today, there is once again that sense of change, opportunity and uncertainty, as a result of a sudden proliferation of new forms of transport. Experts predict a not-so-late demise of the car as a mode of travel which moved humanity in the twentieth century. This book is a good narrative of man’s progress from invention of the wheel to smartphone-enabled ride sharing services on a driverless vehicle. Tom Standage is deputy editor at the Economist and editor of its future-gazing annual ‘The World Ahead’. He is also the author of many best-selling books and lives in London.
Just as it is apt to begin from the very beginning, Standage starts the narrative with early forms of transport. It is widely believed that the wheel was invented in Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BCE as a means for conveying grain from one place to the other. This book proposes that it was invented in Europe, in the Carpathian mountain region in west Ukraine, for transporting copper ore about 400 years earlier than the date on which wheel was supposed to have come into being in Mesopotamia. To consolidate the claim, the author alludes to Ljubljana Marshes wheel found in Poland at around the same time. Wherever it may have originated, some of the formal rules governing the use of wheeled vehicles and the earliest examples of urban environments being reshaped to accommodate them date to the Roman period in the late centuries BCE. There was public pressure not to allow wheeled vehicles on city streets which were the preserve of the townsfolk. However, Julius Caesar introduced a law in 45 BCE, the Lex Julia Municipalis, allowing their use in the city of Rome only from dusk until dawn.
The next revolution in transport occurred around the early-twentieth century with the development of cars. Horses, which were used for transport and hauling carriages, had become a nightmare for most cities when their numbers proliferated and horse manure had become a grave environmental issue for the town’s inhabitants. Alternate vehicles used steam, petrol and electricity. It is curious to learn that battery-powered cars entered the fray more than a century ago. But with the discovery of new petroleum reserves in many parts of the globe, cheap fuel oil replaced all others as the prime mover. Cars became accessible to the common man with the introduction of Ford Model T. Prices of cars ranged from $2800 to $7000, but the Model T was priced at $850 only. Unlike others, its advertisements did not depict a target customer or context of use, implying that this universal car was suitable for everyone. The challenge was to build an engine that was light but powerful. Ford identified Vanadium steel, which had just then become commercially available in Europe. Ford’s ‘moving assembly line’ concept reduced the production cost to a great extent. The Model T sold for just $298 in five years and it cornered a market share of 55 per cent. By extending car ownership down the income scale, the Model T brought motoring to the masses.
After building up the story of the automobile, the book looks into the mess it had unintentionally brought about in urban settlements. Clogging of road lanes due to heavy traffic and pollution has prompted authorities to curb vehicular traffic in selected areas of the city. This was necessitated due to transfer of population to the suburbs when better transportation was available a half century ago. Standage examines the urban layouts by Cesare Marchetti. It suggests that one hour is, on average, how long people are willing to spend travelling to and from work each day and has been so for centuries. Some people commute much shorter or longer, but the average holds for a whole city’s population. When faster modes of transport emerge, cities grow in size.
The author also studies the impact cars and automobiles have brought in re-moulding social relationships and societal restrictions. Cars and the freedom they provided were central to the teenage culture that began to take shape in 1940s America and exported worldwide. It changed the eating habits too. The drive-in restaurants that sprang up along American highways, catering to time-pressed drivers with fast service and the promise of consistency under a nationwide brand, gave rise to the modern concept of fast food. Cars have been the driving force in creating shopping patterns. In a future in which cars would assume a decidedly less prominent role, its owners’ habits are bound to change. Although teenagers and young adults embrace malls and large supermarkets as a social space, malls are in retreat. By 2005, around 1500 enclosed malls were built in the US, but hardly any have been built since then. Smartphones provide a far more convenient venue to chat with friends and other social activities. The Covid pandemic has also encouraged customers to buy from online stores rather than physical nearby outlets.
Standage makes a few intelligent guesses about the future of personal transportation in future. An obvious candidate is the electric car which makes a comeback facilitated by the Lithium-ion battery that expanded the storage capacity of batteries. He argues that the concept of a personally owned car would soon become obsolete. Ride-sharing and ride-hailing are suggested as the two alternatives enabled by powerful smartphones. Improvements in mass transport systems such as the Hyperloop are not even mentioned. Similarly conspicuous by absence is the story of air travel and its potential for the future. The book can be clearly divided into two halves – one being the historical development of automobiles and the other being deliberations on the future. The first part is very interesting to read, but the latter appears to be labored. The practical implications of the author’s imagined future would become apparent only after a few decades. The author’s prediction that personal ownership of cars would shrink in the future is a bold one as it requires letting go of a major icon of flaunting one’s wealth in many societies. The availability of shared vehicles in the case of a national or climate emergency is also a point which would weigh heavily in the decision-making process of the people.
The book is recommended.
Just as it is apt to begin from the very beginning, Standage starts the narrative with early forms of transport. It is widely believed that the wheel was invented in Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BCE as a means for conveying grain from one place to the other. This book proposes that it was invented in Europe, in the Carpathian mountain region in west Ukraine, for transporting copper ore about 400 years earlier than the date on which wheel was supposed to have come into being in Mesopotamia. To consolidate the claim, the author alludes to Ljubljana Marshes wheel found in Poland at around the same time. Wherever it may have originated, some of the formal rules governing the use of wheeled vehicles and the earliest examples of urban environments being reshaped to accommodate them date to the Roman period in the late centuries BCE. There was public pressure not to allow wheeled vehicles on city streets which were the preserve of the townsfolk. However, Julius Caesar introduced a law in 45 BCE, the Lex Julia Municipalis, allowing their use in the city of Rome only from dusk until dawn.
The next revolution in transport occurred around the early-twentieth century with the development of cars. Horses, which were used for transport and hauling carriages, had become a nightmare for most cities when their numbers proliferated and horse manure had become a grave environmental issue for the town’s inhabitants. Alternate vehicles used steam, petrol and electricity. It is curious to learn that battery-powered cars entered the fray more than a century ago. But with the discovery of new petroleum reserves in many parts of the globe, cheap fuel oil replaced all others as the prime mover. Cars became accessible to the common man with the introduction of Ford Model T. Prices of cars ranged from $2800 to $7000, but the Model T was priced at $850 only. Unlike others, its advertisements did not depict a target customer or context of use, implying that this universal car was suitable for everyone. The challenge was to build an engine that was light but powerful. Ford identified Vanadium steel, which had just then become commercially available in Europe. Ford’s ‘moving assembly line’ concept reduced the production cost to a great extent. The Model T sold for just $298 in five years and it cornered a market share of 55 per cent. By extending car ownership down the income scale, the Model T brought motoring to the masses.
After building up the story of the automobile, the book looks into the mess it had unintentionally brought about in urban settlements. Clogging of road lanes due to heavy traffic and pollution has prompted authorities to curb vehicular traffic in selected areas of the city. This was necessitated due to transfer of population to the suburbs when better transportation was available a half century ago. Standage examines the urban layouts by Cesare Marchetti. It suggests that one hour is, on average, how long people are willing to spend travelling to and from work each day and has been so for centuries. Some people commute much shorter or longer, but the average holds for a whole city’s population. When faster modes of transport emerge, cities grow in size.
The author also studies the impact cars and automobiles have brought in re-moulding social relationships and societal restrictions. Cars and the freedom they provided were central to the teenage culture that began to take shape in 1940s America and exported worldwide. It changed the eating habits too. The drive-in restaurants that sprang up along American highways, catering to time-pressed drivers with fast service and the promise of consistency under a nationwide brand, gave rise to the modern concept of fast food. Cars have been the driving force in creating shopping patterns. In a future in which cars would assume a decidedly less prominent role, its owners’ habits are bound to change. Although teenagers and young adults embrace malls and large supermarkets as a social space, malls are in retreat. By 2005, around 1500 enclosed malls were built in the US, but hardly any have been built since then. Smartphones provide a far more convenient venue to chat with friends and other social activities. The Covid pandemic has also encouraged customers to buy from online stores rather than physical nearby outlets.
Standage makes a few intelligent guesses about the future of personal transportation in future. An obvious candidate is the electric car which makes a comeback facilitated by the Lithium-ion battery that expanded the storage capacity of batteries. He argues that the concept of a personally owned car would soon become obsolete. Ride-sharing and ride-hailing are suggested as the two alternatives enabled by powerful smartphones. Improvements in mass transport systems such as the Hyperloop are not even mentioned. Similarly conspicuous by absence is the story of air travel and its potential for the future. The book can be clearly divided into two halves – one being the historical development of automobiles and the other being deliberations on the future. The first part is very interesting to read, but the latter appears to be labored. The practical implications of the author’s imagined future would become apparent only after a few decades. The author’s prediction that personal ownership of cars would shrink in the future is a bold one as it requires letting go of a major icon of flaunting one’s wealth in many societies. The availability of shared vehicles in the case of a national or climate emergency is also a point which would weigh heavily in the decision-making process of the people.
The book is recommended.
June 10, 2021
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/
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/
December 2, 2021
This book did have quite A few interesting parts/facts, but overall this was quite A boring read for me. Which is why it took nearly A whole month to finish.
January 24, 2023
Standage tells a fascinating story, one where each page has something that makes you want to read it aloud to anyone else in the room.
May 7, 2023
Great popular history. Well narrated.
June 29, 2023
ประวัติอย่างย่อของการพัฒนาเทคโนโลยีการเดินทาง ที่ชี้ให้เห็นถึงการเกี่ยวเนื่องของการเมือง วัฒนธรรมและเทคโนโลยี
หนังสือเล่าเรื่องการเปลี่ยนผ่านของการทอดทิ้งยุครถม้ามาสู่รถยนต์ได้ดีมาก ~ ความกลัวรถยนต์ของคนบางกลุ่ม อ่อ ปัจจุบันก็พบเห็นตรรกะเดียวกันได้อยู่ ไม่เกินจินตนาการเท่าไร
“มันเริ่มต้นจากการทดลองทางวิทยาศาสตร์ ดำเนินต่อไปจนกลายเป็นเครื่องมือแห่งการผจญภัย แล้วก็เป็นของเล่นของคนรวย จากนั้นเป็นความทะเยอทะยานของคนจน สุดท้ายมันเป็นผู้รับใช้ต่อทุกคน” Filson Young, The Living Age, 1911
แก้ปัญหาด้วยทางแก้ปัญหาที่นำไปสู่ปัญหาใหม่ที่อาจจะแย่และแก้ยากกว่าเดิม ชั้นสะดวกสบายเข้าว่า ชหนิดหน่อยก็ช่างมันเดี๋ยวชั้นก็ตายแล้ว
การเลือกอะไรบางอย่างถึงดูเล็กน้อยอาจส่งผลกระทบได้ยาวนานยันชั่วลูกชั่วหลานได้ ความกังวลต่อการเปลี่ยนแปลงและของใหม่ ๆ การเตะถ่วงจากผู้ได้ผลประโยชน์เดิม ช่างเป็นแพทเทิร์นที่เห็นแล้วเห็นอีกในประวัติศาสตร์มนุษย์จริง ๆ
แต่รถยนต์มันก็นำมาสู่ปัญหาใหม่อีกนั่นแหละ รอการพัฒนาหาทางแก้ปัญหากันไปเรื่อย ๆ
ก็อดทึ่งไม่ได้กับความทะเยอทะยานของมนุษย์นะที่เปลี่ยนหน้าประวัติศาสตร์ได้ไม่หยุดหย่อน ทุกอย่างพัฒนาในแง่ใดแง่หนึ่งอยู่ตลอดเวลาไม่หยุดยั้ง
จากการทุ่นแรงและอำนวยความสะดวกกลายมาเป็นสิ่งแบ่งแยกสถานะได้ นำไปสู่การพัฒนาของการจัดการจราจร/ผังเมืองและความเจริญของพื้นที่หนึ่ง ๆ ซึ่งก็เลี่ยงไม่ได้ที่จะมีผลต่อวิถีชีวิตของผู้คน การแสดงความรัก การกินอาหาร สิทธิทางชนชั้น การเจริญของทุนนิยม แล้วก็…การบาดเจ็บที่รุนแรงขึ้นและสาเหตุการตายแบบใหม่ ที่นำไปสู่การให้สัญญาณและกฏการใช้ถนนร่วมกันของคนเดินถนนและพาหนะต่าง ๆ และ นวัตกรรมใหม่ ๆ เพื่อตอบสนองความต้องการของมนุษย์
มนุษย์ก็โหยหาอิสระไปเรื่อย ๆ
จากเดิมที่ยานพาหนะทำให้ชีวิตมีอิสระ
จนการเข้ามาของอินเตอร์เนตและสมาร์ทโฟนทำให้ขยายขอบเขตความอิสระได้มากกว่าเดิม
เครื่องมือเดิม ๆ ก็ต้องปรับเปลี่ยนเพื่อให้คงอยู่ต่อไป
สุดปัง
…
ยืมฟรีจากแอป TK read ดองไว้เกือบจะหมดอายุ ถถถ
หนังสือเล่าเรื่องการเปลี่ยนผ่านของการทอดทิ้งยุครถม้ามาสู่รถยนต์ได้ดีมาก ~ ความกลัวรถยนต์ของคนบางกลุ่ม อ่อ ปัจจุบันก็พบเห็นตรรกะเดียวกันได้อยู่ ไม่เกินจินตนาการเท่าไร
“มันเริ่มต้นจากการทดลองทางวิทยาศาสตร์ ดำเนินต่อไปจนกลายเป็นเครื่องมือแห่งการผจญภัย แล้วก็เป็นของเล่นของคนรวย จากนั้นเป็นความทะเยอทะยานของคนจน สุดท้ายมันเป็นผู้รับใช้ต่อทุกคน” Filson Young, The Living Age, 1911
แก้ปัญหาด้วยทางแก้ปัญหาที่นำไปสู่ปัญหาใหม่ที่อาจจะแย่และแก้ยากกว่าเดิม ชั้นสะดวกสบายเข้าว่า ชหนิดหน่อยก็ช่างมันเดี๋ยวชั้นก็ตายแล้ว
การเลือกอะไรบางอย่างถึงดูเล็กน้อยอาจส่งผลกระทบได้ยาวนานยันชั่วลูกชั่วหลานได้ ความกังวลต่อการเปลี่ยนแปลงและของใหม่ ๆ การเตะถ่วงจากผู้ได้ผลประโยชน์เดิม ช่างเป็นแพทเทิร์นที่เห็นแล้วเห็นอีกในประวัติศาสตร์มนุษย์จริง ๆ
แต่รถยนต์มันก็นำมาสู่ปัญหาใหม่อีกนั่นแหละ รอการพัฒนาหาทางแก้ปัญหากันไปเรื่อย ๆ
ก็อดทึ่งไม่ได้กับความทะเยอทะยานของมนุษย์นะที่เปลี่ยนหน้าประวัติศาสตร์ได้ไม่หยุดหย่อน ทุกอย่างพัฒนาในแง่ใดแง่หนึ่งอยู่ตลอดเวลาไม่หยุดยั้ง
จากการทุ่นแรงและอำนวยความสะดวกกลายมาเป็นสิ่งแบ่งแยกสถานะได้ นำไปสู่การพัฒนาของการจัดการจราจร/ผังเมืองและความเจริญของพื้นที่หนึ่ง ๆ ซึ่งก็เลี่ยงไม่ได้ที่จะมีผลต่อวิถีชีวิตของผู้คน การแสดงความรัก การกินอาหาร สิทธิทางชนชั้น การเจริญของทุนนิยม แล้วก็…การบาดเจ็บที่รุนแรงขึ้นและสาเหตุการตายแบบใหม่ ที่นำไปสู่การให้สัญญาณและกฏการใช้ถนนร่วมกันของคนเดินถนนและพาหนะต่าง ๆ และ นวัตกรรมใหม่ ๆ เพื่อตอบสนองความต้องการของมนุษย์
มนุษย์ก็โหยหาอิสระไปเรื่อย ๆ
จากเดิมที่ยานพาหนะทำให้ชีวิตมีอิสระ
จนการเข้ามาของอินเตอร์เนตและสมาร์ทโฟนทำให้ขยายขอบเขตความอิสระได้มากกว่าเดิม
เครื่องมือเดิม ๆ ก็ต้องปรับเปลี่ยนเพื่อให้คงอยู่ต่อไป
สุดปัง
…
ยืมฟรีจากแอป TK read ดองไว้เกือบจะหมดอายุ ถถถ
March 21, 2022
This is an entertaining read with some surprises and some sections that are more well known about transportation methods throughout history. The most thought provoking section is the glimpse into the future away from personally owned vehicles to purchasing rides using multiple different modes of travel from bikes and e-scooters to autonomous vehicles. It's instructive to see the unintended consequences of different travel means throughout history, and how that shapes decisions about future travel technologies and the impact on society. we can only hope we can learn from past experience.
November 4, 2022
An interesting history of wheeled vehicles / cars and the city planning that cars require.
April 24, 2022
I thought this was going to cover more forms of transportation like boats and planes but it's more about land transportation.
Interesting history about chariots, horses, and early electric cars being womanly. Goes all the way to 2021 with ride sharing, scooters, and bicycle sharing. I didn't find many insights but enjoyed the history lesson especially about the ride hailing craze with jitneys over 100 years ago starting in 1914 that was shut down by governments and big business.
Excerpts:
American civil rights campaigner Susan B. Anthony declared that the bicycle had “done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives woman a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.”
there were concerns that frequent cycling would lead to the development of “bicycle face,” a deformation of the features, or “cyclemania,” an unhealthy obsession with cycling at speed
Victorians also worried that cycling made women infertile, loosened their morals, led them to develop overly masculine musculature, and generally threatened the natural order of things
The most famous restriction was the so-called Red Flag law in Britain, passed in 1865, which required any “locomotive on the highway” to have a crew of three, one of whom had to walk at least sixty yards in front of the vehicle holding a red flag or lantern to give other road users sufficient warning of its approach.
he Los Angeles rules became the model for pedestrian regulation in other cities across America, enshrined in the Model Municipal Transport Ordinance, issued in 1928 by Hoover’s national safety body. With government backing, behavior had shifted entirely by 1930, and the default was that streets were for cars, and pedestrians should limit themselves to crosswalks.
Instead, he argued, he and his colleagues should focus on developing new approaches to trauma surgery as a way to reduce the death toll. This indicates the extent to which the adoption of the car, and the resulting danger posed to life and limb, had already come to be seen as an unfortunate but inevitable fact of life—an attitude that still prevails today
Many modern suburbs no longer have sidewalks, making it dangerous to walk short distances in suburban areas even if you try. About half the car journeys taken in America are of less than three miles; for trips of less than a mile, 62 percent overall are by car, rising to 78 percent in the suburbs. The default is to drive
[After inventing the indoor mall] Gruen disliked what he saw. Suburban roads, he told an architecture conference in the 1950s, were “avenues of horror,” “flanked by the greatest collection of vulgarity—billboards, motels, gas stations, shanties, car lots, miscellaneous industrial equipment, hot dog stands, wayside stores—ever collected by mankind.” Having grown up in Vienna, a pedestrian-friendly city with grand parks, public squares, and shopping arcades...
In 2019 the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Stanley Whittingham, John Goodenough (Hook 'Em!), and Akira Yoshino for their work on the development of lithium-ion batteries.
Interesting history about chariots, horses, and early electric cars being womanly. Goes all the way to 2021 with ride sharing, scooters, and bicycle sharing. I didn't find many insights but enjoyed the history lesson especially about the ride hailing craze with jitneys over 100 years ago starting in 1914 that was shut down by governments and big business.
Excerpts:
American civil rights campaigner Susan B. Anthony declared that the bicycle had “done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives woman a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.”
there were concerns that frequent cycling would lead to the development of “bicycle face,” a deformation of the features, or “cyclemania,” an unhealthy obsession with cycling at speed
Victorians also worried that cycling made women infertile, loosened their morals, led them to develop overly masculine musculature, and generally threatened the natural order of things
The most famous restriction was the so-called Red Flag law in Britain, passed in 1865, which required any “locomotive on the highway” to have a crew of three, one of whom had to walk at least sixty yards in front of the vehicle holding a red flag or lantern to give other road users sufficient warning of its approach.
he Los Angeles rules became the model for pedestrian regulation in other cities across America, enshrined in the Model Municipal Transport Ordinance, issued in 1928 by Hoover’s national safety body. With government backing, behavior had shifted entirely by 1930, and the default was that streets were for cars, and pedestrians should limit themselves to crosswalks.
Instead, he argued, he and his colleagues should focus on developing new approaches to trauma surgery as a way to reduce the death toll. This indicates the extent to which the adoption of the car, and the resulting danger posed to life and limb, had already come to be seen as an unfortunate but inevitable fact of life—an attitude that still prevails today
Many modern suburbs no longer have sidewalks, making it dangerous to walk short distances in suburban areas even if you try. About half the car journeys taken in America are of less than three miles; for trips of less than a mile, 62 percent overall are by car, rising to 78 percent in the suburbs. The default is to drive
[After inventing the indoor mall] Gruen disliked what he saw. Suburban roads, he told an architecture conference in the 1950s, were “avenues of horror,” “flanked by the greatest collection of vulgarity—billboards, motels, gas stations, shanties, car lots, miscellaneous industrial equipment, hot dog stands, wayside stores—ever collected by mankind.” Having grown up in Vienna, a pedestrian-friendly city with grand parks, public squares, and shopping arcades...
In 2019 the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Stanley Whittingham, John Goodenough (Hook 'Em!), and Akira Yoshino for their work on the development of lithium-ion batteries.
June 14, 2021
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.
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.
June 17, 2022
Every once in a while a book is dropped on you that you never would have expected to be really, really good. This selection came through a Goodreads advertisement of newly released titles.
I do love a good, well-written non-fiction book and this one on the history of transportation is exceptional. It does start with the basics in ancient days, such as the invention of the wheel and the canoe. So some would consider this a slow start, but I was acquainted with these facts and I just marvel at the ingenuity of mankind to see a problem and solve it. You can't turn your wagon, meaning it only goes forward and backward so you invent a turning unit independent of the body. It sure beats trying to haul all that produce from the fields by hand.
The background on the use of the horse to haul everything including city passengers was amazing in the detail of what all those horses entailed, from the people who maintained the horses to the people who had to remove the horse droppings. Talk about unintended consequences!
If you are intent on skipping the first part, go on to the invention of the automobile. This is just amazing for the variety of design, locomotion and fuel sources that set off the age of the automobile. And, of course, the unintended consequences that set off traffic jams, actual gridlock and fumes as owners paraded their cars so everyone could see the cars and the owners who had bought this magnificent piece of beauty.
This book takes you all the way to the present with the author's look at driverless vehicles and the hurdles that need to be overcome before they become reality.
I suggest that you share this book with middle and high school students as they assess what was promoted and what was delivered thru the course of history. Do it as a family read, it will be worth it. If you are situated anywhere close to a museum of historical vehicles, add that in as a side trip, both before and after you read the book. Did you know that electric vehicles outpaced gas vehicles and were ready to jump way ahead when some nasty gossip against them turned the tide against electric?
I am fortunate to reside within walking distance of a very well maintained and eclectic gathering of historical vehicles. Call ahead and see if you can get a docent to guide you to what you want to see. You can prove to the kids that electric vehicles are NOT new and have been around for a very LONG time.
**My local museum is: Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, Walnut St. Boyertown PA 19512. Facebook page: Boyertown Museum.org. Phone: 610-367-2090. Call ahead for hours and to arrange a docent led tour. Don't be afraid to call ahead and ask for someone who is good with the age group you are bringing and be specific about what interests your group and the length of the tour so that you do not lose the interest that you have built up. Of course, they is NO running and NO mounting the cars. The museum has several outside larger events in the late spring, summer and early fall. They host an electric vehicle festival every year where owners come to show off their vehicles and answer questions. The museum in situated in a small town so arranging for a break to walk outside or grab food as locations are just a few blocks stroll away and doable.
(This is a independent review. I am not employed by this organization and my only interest is to promote a worthwhile organization run totally by volunteers.)
I do love a good, well-written non-fiction book and this one on the history of transportation is exceptional. It does start with the basics in ancient days, such as the invention of the wheel and the canoe. So some would consider this a slow start, but I was acquainted with these facts and I just marvel at the ingenuity of mankind to see a problem and solve it. You can't turn your wagon, meaning it only goes forward and backward so you invent a turning unit independent of the body. It sure beats trying to haul all that produce from the fields by hand.
The background on the use of the horse to haul everything including city passengers was amazing in the detail of what all those horses entailed, from the people who maintained the horses to the people who had to remove the horse droppings. Talk about unintended consequences!
If you are intent on skipping the first part, go on to the invention of the automobile. This is just amazing for the variety of design, locomotion and fuel sources that set off the age of the automobile. And, of course, the unintended consequences that set off traffic jams, actual gridlock and fumes as owners paraded their cars so everyone could see the cars and the owners who had bought this magnificent piece of beauty.
This book takes you all the way to the present with the author's look at driverless vehicles and the hurdles that need to be overcome before they become reality.
I suggest that you share this book with middle and high school students as they assess what was promoted and what was delivered thru the course of history. Do it as a family read, it will be worth it. If you are situated anywhere close to a museum of historical vehicles, add that in as a side trip, both before and after you read the book. Did you know that electric vehicles outpaced gas vehicles and were ready to jump way ahead when some nasty gossip against them turned the tide against electric?
I am fortunate to reside within walking distance of a very well maintained and eclectic gathering of historical vehicles. Call ahead and see if you can get a docent to guide you to what you want to see. You can prove to the kids that electric vehicles are NOT new and have been around for a very LONG time.
**My local museum is: Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, Walnut St. Boyertown PA 19512. Facebook page: Boyertown Museum.org. Phone: 610-367-2090. Call ahead for hours and to arrange a docent led tour. Don't be afraid to call ahead and ask for someone who is good with the age group you are bringing and be specific about what interests your group and the length of the tour so that you do not lose the interest that you have built up. Of course, they is NO running and NO mounting the cars. The museum has several outside larger events in the late spring, summer and early fall. They host an electric vehicle festival every year where owners come to show off their vehicles and answer questions. The museum in situated in a small town so arranging for a break to walk outside or grab food as locations are just a few blocks stroll away and doable.
(This is a independent review. I am not employed by this organization and my only interest is to promote a worthwhile organization run totally by volunteers.)
August 25, 2021
Tom Standage is back with another concise, fun history book. This time we delve into the history of wheeled transport, with the heart of the book discussing the evolution of the modern automobile, what it has meant for societies around the world, and what may come after it.
The first part of the book gives us an overview of what came before the modern car - highlighting wheels themselves (not considered exceptionally useful for a long, long time), then chariots, carts and coaches. This is followed by several interesting stories of early rail innovations.
After that we jump into the story of the rise of the automobile, and so we spend the rest of the book from the 1880s until today. Did you know that the first person to drive an automobile over a long distance, proving that cars could be put to practical use, was a woman? Did you know that the Model T, the most popular car of it's day, was not only the car that made the Ford Motor Company, but also, because of Henry Ford's stubborn reluctance to make major changes to his lineup of offerings, led to the company's declining fortunes in the face of upstart rival General Motors? Those are just a few of the stories Standage covers in this part of the book.
Finally, the book finishes off with a discussion of how the automobile is currently transforming, including discussion of electric vehicles, self driving cars and alternate forms of ownership and ways of consuming "rides", whether on four wheels or two.
As a child of the US heartland - Michigan in particular - cars, car manufacturing, and car culture are something I grew up surrounded with. So for me this book was an enjoyable journey through many stories and tidbits I was already mostly familiar with. I think that others not so familiar would still find this book of interest.
I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who may be interested in quick history of the automobile. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Liam Gerrard, who did an exceptional job. I rate Tom Standage's A Brief History of Motion Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐.
NOTE: My Advanced Reviewer's Copy of the audiobook version of A Brief History of Motion was provided at no cost through Netgalley and Tantor Media in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. The book, ebook (by Bloomsbury) and audiobook (by Tantor Media) versions have all just been published.
The first part of the book gives us an overview of what came before the modern car - highlighting wheels themselves (not considered exceptionally useful for a long, long time), then chariots, carts and coaches. This is followed by several interesting stories of early rail innovations.
After that we jump into the story of the rise of the automobile, and so we spend the rest of the book from the 1880s until today. Did you know that the first person to drive an automobile over a long distance, proving that cars could be put to practical use, was a woman? Did you know that the Model T, the most popular car of it's day, was not only the car that made the Ford Motor Company, but also, because of Henry Ford's stubborn reluctance to make major changes to his lineup of offerings, led to the company's declining fortunes in the face of upstart rival General Motors? Those are just a few of the stories Standage covers in this part of the book.
Finally, the book finishes off with a discussion of how the automobile is currently transforming, including discussion of electric vehicles, self driving cars and alternate forms of ownership and ways of consuming "rides", whether on four wheels or two.
As a child of the US heartland - Michigan in particular - cars, car manufacturing, and car culture are something I grew up surrounded with. So for me this book was an enjoyable journey through many stories and tidbits I was already mostly familiar with. I think that others not so familiar would still find this book of interest.
I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who may be interested in quick history of the automobile. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Liam Gerrard, who did an exceptional job. I rate Tom Standage's A Brief History of Motion Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐.
NOTE: My Advanced Reviewer's Copy of the audiobook version of A Brief History of Motion was provided at no cost through Netgalley and Tantor Media in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. The book, ebook (by Bloomsbury) and audiobook (by Tantor Media) versions have all just been published.
July 6, 2023
Tom, Tom, Tom. You know drinking and driving is a bad idea, but what did you do? You followed A History of the World through Six Glasses with this A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel to the Automobile. Granted, we did have An Edible History of Humanity between the drinks and driving, so it could be worse. A Brief History of Motion may not be as generally attractive to a mass audience given the subject (everyone drinks and eats, but not everyone is necessarily into coaches and cars), but it’s as fun and informative as I’ve come to expect from Standage. He begins with the wheel and the evolution of carts and coaches, then shifts into modernity with bikes, trains, and automobiles. As expected from a writer of social history, Standage focuses on the social and cultural aspects of these forms of transport. In the Roman world, for instance, we learn that men regarded wagons and coaches as a very womanly way to get about, and preferred riding horseback — a conceit that continued until coaches continuing development made them valuable as status symbols. The bicycle and automobile chapters are far more expansive, as Standage points out the ways bicycles altered courtship rituals, and how cars up-ended not only American business, but American society as a whole. General Motors business model (creating multiple brands to appeal to different layers of the market) became normative, and motoring culture created multiple new businesses around it, from fast food to shopping malls. (Jim Kunstler and Jane Holtz Kay have covered the same, though with considerably more hostility) Although I’ve read a lot about transportation over the years, Standage delivered more than a few surprises — like his argument that Hitler’s promotion of the car industry in Germany attributed more to it bouncing out of the depression than the war. He also takes down a few misunderstandings along the way, like the old canard that GM and a few car parts companies conspired to buy out street car lines and immediately close them. I believed that one myself until reading a few books on streetcars (Fares, Please! and Romance of the Rails) that made me realize streetcar lines were folding like Germany in 1945 by the time GM’s buyout if one company happened.) Standage wraps up the book with a look at carsharing apps and the like that may move us closer to a future where people don’t have to be burdened with the financial costs of a car just to participate in society, while compromising with the fact that we’re more or less stuck with all this car infrastructure for the time being, instead of getting to live in proper towns where people can get around on foot, bicycle, bus, etc. This is one I’m happy to recommend: it’s the book Are We There Yet? wanted to be but didn’t come close to being.
June 2, 2025
Advances in transportation technology have shaped our world physically, socially, and psychologically. They are so deeply incorporated into our lives that we take it for granted that we can just hop into a car, bus, or train and travel to another city in a matter of hours. In A Brief History of Motion, author Tom Standage examines the history of various forms of transportation from ancient wheeled carts to the self-driving vehicles of the 21st century.
As the title suggests, this book is not a comprehensive dive into the scientific or physical workings of steam engines or internal combustion engines—nor is it an anthropological look at the evolution of broad groups or cultures. Rather, this book bends more towards a social history of how different means of getting around transformed various aspects of our cities, laws, and ways we go about our daily lives (typically with a focus on the West).
To that end, the book covers a lot of ground, beginning with the invention of the wheel. We are taken through the ages of horse drawn carriages, steam locomotion, early self-propelled vehicles, the role of cars in the rise of suburbia, ride sharing, the lasting effect cars had on American culture in the 50s through the 70s, electric vehicles, and addressing current and future problems with car culture. Standage provides a lot of context and a good deal of fun facts.
I personally found this book to be rather enjoyable and interesting. It is not a work of scholarly rigor (and I agree that it can be a tad dry sometimes), but it is readable and provides important context for the world we live in today—the world of massive highways, big box stores, shopping centers, decentralized city layouts, and a generally miserable experience for pedestrians. As Standage explains, we may be at the cusp of a new era in transportation and the decisions made now could echo through generations. I hope we choose wisely.
As the title suggests, this book is not a comprehensive dive into the scientific or physical workings of steam engines or internal combustion engines—nor is it an anthropological look at the evolution of broad groups or cultures. Rather, this book bends more towards a social history of how different means of getting around transformed various aspects of our cities, laws, and ways we go about our daily lives (typically with a focus on the West).
To that end, the book covers a lot of ground, beginning with the invention of the wheel. We are taken through the ages of horse drawn carriages, steam locomotion, early self-propelled vehicles, the role of cars in the rise of suburbia, ride sharing, the lasting effect cars had on American culture in the 50s through the 70s, electric vehicles, and addressing current and future problems with car culture. Standage provides a lot of context and a good deal of fun facts.
I personally found this book to be rather enjoyable and interesting. It is not a work of scholarly rigor (and I agree that it can be a tad dry sometimes), but it is readable and provides important context for the world we live in today—the world of massive highways, big box stores, shopping centers, decentralized city layouts, and a generally miserable experience for pedestrians. As Standage explains, we may be at the cusp of a new era in transportation and the decisions made now could echo through generations. I hope we choose wisely.
December 20, 2021
From carts to cars to whatever comes next.
Standage traces the history of mostly personal locomotion, with a definite focus on cars.
The history starts back in prehistoric times with the first wheels made in Eastern or Central Europe, or maybe central Asia back in 5000-4000 BCE, but the oldest uncontroversial find dates to the end of the fourth millennium BCE.
The Hittite war chariots were famous, but even before the invention of the stirrup the horse was seen as the only means of transportation manly enough for 'real men' for thousands of years. Driving around in carriages was seen as effeminate, up until the invention of light and fast 'coaches' in the 16th century.
The most diverse era in the history of the modern car were the decades around 1900, when there were at least three main contenders for the future of propulsion, with steam, electricity and internal combustion all looking equally likely to dominate. The fuel for the internal combustion engine could also have come from plant-derived ethanol, but due at least in part to lobbying from Standard Oil, it was never competitive with petroleum derived fuel, at least not in the US, which is where the standards were set.
Now we're approaching a similarly divisive fork in the road, with driverless carriages taking over after the horseless variety, and batteries take over after fossil fuels. Where this will lead is for now unclear, but Standage makes some bold guesses, and posits that the next unintended consequence may well be data privacy, as more and more people-moving-systems depend on identifying and locating users with increasing granularity in both time and space.
Standage traces the history of mostly personal locomotion, with a definite focus on cars.
The history starts back in prehistoric times with the first wheels made in Eastern or Central Europe, or maybe central Asia back in 5000-4000 BCE, but the oldest uncontroversial find dates to the end of the fourth millennium BCE.
The Hittite war chariots were famous, but even before the invention of the stirrup the horse was seen as the only means of transportation manly enough for 'real men' for thousands of years. Driving around in carriages was seen as effeminate, up until the invention of light and fast 'coaches' in the 16th century.
The most diverse era in the history of the modern car were the decades around 1900, when there were at least three main contenders for the future of propulsion, with steam, electricity and internal combustion all looking equally likely to dominate. The fuel for the internal combustion engine could also have come from plant-derived ethanol, but due at least in part to lobbying from Standard Oil, it was never competitive with petroleum derived fuel, at least not in the US, which is where the standards were set.
Now we're approaching a similarly divisive fork in the road, with driverless carriages taking over after the horseless variety, and batteries take over after fossil fuels. Where this will lead is for now unclear, but Standage makes some bold guesses, and posits that the next unintended consequence may well be data privacy, as more and more people-moving-systems depend on identifying and locating users with increasing granularity in both time and space.
June 27, 2025
3.5 stars, rounded up
I waffled between giving this book 3 stars or 3.5, and chose 3.5 because I've enjoyed other books by the author.
The title of the book was a bit misleading - despite the subtitle, I expected history of more than just the car, but the car and its predecessors were the entire focus. I liked the first half of the book, learning more about how the wheel was adopted into use, then the progression of wheeled vehicles from wagons and chariots to coaches and locomotives to the horseless carriage. The sections talking about 'car culture' - drive-in movies and fast food's drive-thru lanes, for example - were entertaining as well.
Unfortunately, the last few chapters lost my attention. Yes, 'something' needs to be done about the problems caused by the proliferation of vehicles in today's world. However, the author failed to take into account that many of us do not live in areas with public transportation or reliable ride-sharing apps, or areas that are walkable, so we must still depend on our privately-owned vehicles to take us where we need to be. Even carpooling, which wasn't even mentioned, is impossible for many who work unusual hours or in out-of-the-way locations. The heavy emphasis on these methods was disappointing and soured my impression of the book overall.
As previously mentioned, I have enjoyed other books by this author, and several more are on my to-read shelf, so I hope this book is the exception and not the rule for me.
I waffled between giving this book 3 stars or 3.5, and chose 3.5 because I've enjoyed other books by the author.
The title of the book was a bit misleading - despite the subtitle, I expected history of more than just the car, but the car and its predecessors were the entire focus. I liked the first half of the book, learning more about how the wheel was adopted into use, then the progression of wheeled vehicles from wagons and chariots to coaches and locomotives to the horseless carriage. The sections talking about 'car culture' - drive-in movies and fast food's drive-thru lanes, for example - were entertaining as well.
Unfortunately, the last few chapters lost my attention. Yes, 'something' needs to be done about the problems caused by the proliferation of vehicles in today's world. However, the author failed to take into account that many of us do not live in areas with public transportation or reliable ride-sharing apps, or areas that are walkable, so we must still depend on our privately-owned vehicles to take us where we need to be. Even carpooling, which wasn't even mentioned, is impossible for many who work unusual hours or in out-of-the-way locations. The heavy emphasis on these methods was disappointing and soured my impression of the book overall.
As previously mentioned, I have enjoyed other books by this author, and several more are on my to-read shelf, so I hope this book is the exception and not the rule for me.
July 7, 2022
The book offers a good overview of the history of transportation and some prediction about where we're going. It's filled with tons of interesting information, so I've highlighted it all over.
For example, did you know that the oldest actual wheel ever found was discovered in Ljubljana Marshes in Slovenia? Or that wheels were not widely used for thousands of years after their invention.
There are a bunch of fun anecdotes from the history and stories of how various technologies were competing for dominance and why petrol-powered ICE won.
There's even some managerial advice from Ford himself: "the payment of five dollars a day for an eight-hour day was one of the finest cost-cutting moves we ever made." It turns out that paying higher wages was a way of cutting costs and improving efficiency: it reduced employee turnover and hence the amount of time needed for training.
It also talks about suburban America, how that made them completely car-dependent, and how car drivers "won" over pedestrians over street ownership. In the closing chapters, he also talks about how this trend is reverting in many cities and how a varied slew of public transportation options are better for health and climate.
The book really is all over the place, so it's hard to give it a proper review or, for that matter, five stars. But I definitely recommend reading it.
For example, did you know that the oldest actual wheel ever found was discovered in Ljubljana Marshes in Slovenia? Or that wheels were not widely used for thousands of years after their invention.
There are a bunch of fun anecdotes from the history and stories of how various technologies were competing for dominance and why petrol-powered ICE won.
There's even some managerial advice from Ford himself: "the payment of five dollars a day for an eight-hour day was one of the finest cost-cutting moves we ever made." It turns out that paying higher wages was a way of cutting costs and improving efficiency: it reduced employee turnover and hence the amount of time needed for training.
It also talks about suburban America, how that made them completely car-dependent, and how car drivers "won" over pedestrians over street ownership. In the closing chapters, he also talks about how this trend is reverting in many cities and how a varied slew of public transportation options are better for health and climate.
The book really is all over the place, so it's hard to give it a proper review or, for that matter, five stars. But I definitely recommend reading it.
August 13, 2021
If you’re even remotely interested in cars and trucks and things that go, or if you like historical overviews that use a single thing to cover a lot of historical ground, this is a great book for you!
Mr. Standage begins with the invention of the wheel. Unlike most things, it was not invented in Mesopotamia or anywhere in the Middle East, but rather seems to be a European invention. For a long, long time wheels weren’t actually the most effective mode of transport due to troubles with steering, difficulty in getting animals to pull, and poorly designed/constructed roads. The steering thing took a surprisingly long time to fix. And then it was still a long, long time before wheeled things (chariots in this case) were used in battle, and even longer before they were regularly used for human transport (carriages, roughly 17th century). Naturally a big part of the book is taken up with cars–the invention of and development until we get to here. But along the way he takes us through railroads and bicycles, and on to Lime Scooters and driverless trucks.
This is a fun and informative macrohistory of the world, as told through transportation–specifically wheel-based (not much about boats for example).
Mr. Standage begins with the invention of the wheel. Unlike most things, it was not invented in Mesopotamia or anywhere in the Middle East, but rather seems to be a European invention. For a long, long time wheels weren’t actually the most effective mode of transport due to troubles with steering, difficulty in getting animals to pull, and poorly designed/constructed roads. The steering thing took a surprisingly long time to fix. And then it was still a long, long time before wheeled things (chariots in this case) were used in battle, and even longer before they were regularly used for human transport (carriages, roughly 17th century). Naturally a big part of the book is taken up with cars–the invention of and development until we get to here. But along the way he takes us through railroads and bicycles, and on to Lime Scooters and driverless trucks.
This is a fun and informative macrohistory of the world, as told through transportation–specifically wheel-based (not much about boats for example).
June 6, 2022
Standage starts with the invention of the wheel and describes how that invention changed personal mobility. From there, he covers a lot of time.
Why I started this book: A History of the World in 6 Glasses is one of my favorite history books and I liked Writing on the Wall: Social Media - The First 2,000 Years, so I was eager to read another book by Standage.
Why I finished it: Interesting but ultimately I guess, I wasn't as interested in the history of automibles. I did learn a lot about the invention of the wheel, cart and wagon. I liked that Standage highlighted the implications for various inventions. Like how cities grew, and sprawled with each new method of travel... so that the average trip across town still took around 30 minues. (From walking, to horses, to trolleys, etc.)
Why I started this book: A History of the World in 6 Glasses is one of my favorite history books and I liked Writing on the Wall: Social Media - The First 2,000 Years, so I was eager to read another book by Standage.
Why I finished it: Interesting but ultimately I guess, I wasn't as interested in the history of automibles. I did learn a lot about the invention of the wheel, cart and wagon. I liked that Standage highlighted the implications for various inventions. Like how cities grew, and sprawled with each new method of travel... so that the average trip across town still took around 30 minues. (From walking, to horses, to trolleys, etc.)
January 22, 2023
A good book, providing a history of land vehicles, primarily automobiles, and what those historic trends point toward in the future. The author, journalist and historian Tom Standage, studies the history of mankind’s use of the wheel to improve ground transportation and then extrapolates future developments. Standage’s engaging and informative writing style is always enjoyable. This book is no different, providing a number of factoids alongside deep analysis of important issues. He draws a fairly straight, if sometimes exceedingly delayed, chain of events from the use of primitive wheels to improve labor efficiency through to modern attempts to automate complex vehicle operations. Standage shows how the human desire for efficiency and symbolism were the driving forces behind continual wheeled improvements. He also shows the wide range of actions used to fit these new technologies into our intricate societies. Standage ends the book with interesting theories on where the technology of wheeled vehicles will proceed. Highly recommended for anyone interested in innovation and technological development.
February 21, 2023
The 'from the wheel' section of this book was really rather fascinating (why was the wheel known about but basically ignored by some civilisations for hundreds of years), the 'to the car' and 'to what comes next' portions had some interesting material and anecdotes but have probably been better covered before in a other places. Sadly there is too little on the former section and too much on the latter parts.
The theme of much of the book, and one that could have been explored further is 'it doesn't have to be this way (and almost wasn't)'. What we take today as the given order of things which means basically the primacy of cars and how our cities, work and lives have become dominated by them, was not necessarily a foregone conclusion at the time such patterns were developed and going forward, there are a number of other potentialities for how we organise our time and space which are not dependent on the car. Further consideration of these ideas, rather than the recounting of how things did develop (although well-delivered with interesting anecdotes) would have helped; but the descriptions of how car culture came to shape our society and culture were just a little bit stale.
The theme of much of the book, and one that could have been explored further is 'it doesn't have to be this way (and almost wasn't)'. What we take today as the given order of things which means basically the primacy of cars and how our cities, work and lives have become dominated by them, was not necessarily a foregone conclusion at the time such patterns were developed and going forward, there are a number of other potentialities for how we organise our time and space which are not dependent on the car. Further consideration of these ideas, rather than the recounting of how things did develop (although well-delivered with interesting anecdotes) would have helped; but the descriptions of how car culture came to shape our society and culture were just a little bit stale.
February 9, 2026
Really, the perfect transportation synopsis for those who lap up Reddig r/history. This is a book for those with a casual soup-to-nuts curiosity about transportation history that really whets the desire for deeper dives into specific points on engineering, history, cultural influence, military advancements, the future of transit, etc.
All the questions a casual enthusiast would drum up while pondering the subject are sequenced through. When were new modalities created? What caused 'this modality' to be the standard compared to 'that modality'? What innovations really define the modern transportation landscape?
This book also pointed out how our society gained greater civil rights and democratization through innovations in transportation. Like the Omnibus ("for all" in Latin), in the 1820s, when it really began to be deployed, it was cataclysmic for democratizing the world. Now the commoner could travel great distances, not just on foot, as previously, the horses and carriages of the aristocracy were out of reach.
This book would have been better with a timeline epilogue to visually see the progression of innovation.
All the questions a casual enthusiast would drum up while pondering the subject are sequenced through. When were new modalities created? What caused 'this modality' to be the standard compared to 'that modality'? What innovations really define the modern transportation landscape?
This book also pointed out how our society gained greater civil rights and democratization through innovations in transportation. Like the Omnibus ("for all" in Latin), in the 1820s, when it really began to be deployed, it was cataclysmic for democratizing the world. Now the commoner could travel great distances, not just on foot, as previously, the horses and carriages of the aristocracy were out of reach.
This book would have been better with a timeline epilogue to visually see the progression of innovation.
December 28, 2021
A five star read assuming of course the reader has some interest in this area that covers culture, class, economics, sustainability, environment, race, gender, and politics. It begins way back with carts, oxen, and horses and ends with today's hybrid transportation system where in some cities there's a smartphone app that given a few parameters will give you all the viable options including possible ride-share and bike-share segments for any desired trip.
We learn that transportation pollution is not a new problem just less visible - streets filled with horse manure was a common big city problem before electric street cars. And ride-share systems have sprung up many times to fill holes. The Rosa Parks inspired bus strike is a wonderful example of that.
China is the biggest consumer of cars today but with their government-led drive to reduce emissions the cars of the future will all be electric and limited. The author presents a good case that we have passed 'peak-cars'.
We learn that transportation pollution is not a new problem just less visible - streets filled with horse manure was a common big city problem before electric street cars. And ride-share systems have sprung up many times to fill holes. The Rosa Parks inspired bus strike is a wonderful example of that.
China is the biggest consumer of cars today but with their government-led drive to reduce emissions the cars of the future will all be electric and limited. The author presents a good case that we have passed 'peak-cars'.
April 24, 2021
I just reviewed A Brief History of Motion by Tom Standage. #ABriefHistoryofMotion #NetGalley
https://www.netgalley.com/member/book...
Tom Standage's "Brief history of Motion' takes us on a ride to the ascent of car-culture with an outlook on its end. The title overpromises somewhat, as the stories major intersection is the choice of motorization in the 1910s between steam, electric and internal combustion, a choice that is being remedied as we week. Some side stories about the evolution of fast food and roadside hotels are exceptionally brief to the point that some facts like the story of McDonalds is distorted to a degree that one could claim it is no longer accurate.
Despite all that, the book is highly entertaining and contains a lot of funny anecdotes, interesting trivia and wor(l)d history you always wanted to know but never dared to ask.
https://www.netgalley.com/member/book...
Tom Standage's "Brief history of Motion' takes us on a ride to the ascent of car-culture with an outlook on its end. The title overpromises somewhat, as the stories major intersection is the choice of motorization in the 1910s between steam, electric and internal combustion, a choice that is being remedied as we week. Some side stories about the evolution of fast food and roadside hotels are exceptionally brief to the point that some facts like the story of McDonalds is distorted to a degree that one could claim it is no longer accurate.
Despite all that, the book is highly entertaining and contains a lot of funny anecdotes, interesting trivia and wor(l)d history you always wanted to know but never dared to ask.
November 5, 2021
More a cursory series of articles about the automobile than a "history of motion" as it claims to be, this book is readable, but ultimately forgettable. Perhaps its biggest flaw is that the author, a Brit, greatly underestimates the centrality of the automobile to American culture and life. He ends many of his chapters with predictions about how things like ride-sharing could be the future of transport, but the truth is he never takes into account the key fact that Americans like their cars, even when their cars are noisy, polluting, and dangerous. In fact, especially then.
Overall, this book contains some amusing anecdotes about the history of automobiles, but it's not very useful as a serious study of the future of transport.
Overall, this book contains some amusing anecdotes about the history of automobiles, but it's not very useful as a serious study of the future of transport.
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