Preview: David Byrne's Bicycle Diaries

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Byrne.

Some of you may have read David Byrne's recent review in The New York Times of Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities. And some of you probably know that the Talking Heads frontman, a long-time bike advocate, has his own biking book coming out this September called Bicycle Diaries. 

An advanced copy of the book arrived in our mailbox today. At 294 pages, and filled with postcard-like black-and-white photos, Bicycle Diaries is a first-person account of Mr. Byrne's experiences biking through various cities around the world, from London (chapter 1) to Istanbul (chapter 3) to San Fransisco (chapter 8) and, of course, New York. (It's worth noting, as the ledes of both the book and his Times review illustrate, that Mr. Byrne likes to point out he's been riding a bike around New York as his principal means of transportation since the early '80s. He's also known to do press ops for bike-oriented Department of Transportation initiatives.)

Here's what the accompanying press release has to say:

As Byrne pedals through metropolises from Berlin to Buenos Aires ... he sees economics revealed in shop fronts and history in door frames. With a highly personal mixture of humor and curiosity, he records his thoughts on globalization, world music, urban planning, fashion, policy, architecture, cultural dislocation, and much more. Byrne explains why efforts to increase bicyle use may solve some of the world's pressing transportation and energy concerns, and in an appendix, offers tips on bike security, rider safety, and clothing and listings of bicycle activist organizations across the country.

Incidentally, The Fader has a three-part video slideshow of Mr. Byrne's office on its Web site. Thanks to PSFK for the tip.

Bicycle Diaries comes out on Sept. 21 via Viking.