Read Matthew Biberman's posts on the Penguin Blog."If you believe it is possible to fall in love with a motorcycle, you will love this book." -Jay LenoWhen Big Sid had a heart attack and gave up the will to live, his son Matthew Biberman panicked. Impulsively, Matthew promised his father that they would build a Vincati together. This fusion of two legendary motorcycles, the Vincent Black Shadow and the Ducati GT, a Vincati was considered ne...

In Shakespeare, Adaptation, Psychoanalysis, Matthew Biberman analyzes early adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays in order to identify and illustrate how both social mores and basic human psychology have changed in Anglo-American culture. Biberman contests the received wisdom that Shakespeare’s characters reflect essentially timeless truths about human nature. To the contrary, he points out that Shakespeare’s characters sometimes act and think in ways that have become either stigmatized or si...

Offering a profound re-assessment of the conceptual, rhetorical, and cultural intersections among sexuality, race and religion in English Renaissance texts, this study argues that antisemitism is a by-product of tensions between received Classical conceptions of masculinity and Christianity's strident critique of that ideal. Utilizing works by Shakespeare, Milton, Marlowe and others, Biberman illustrates how modern antisemitism develops as a way to stigmatize hypermasculine behavior, thus ...

It's every motorcyclist's dream. A friend or acquaintance says, "You know, there's an old bike that's been sitting in this garage for years." The hunt is on. And rather than the usual worthless Hondazukimaha pile of hopeless oxidation, at the back of that barn you find a genuine classic, the motorcycle collector's dream. The Vincent in the Barn tells forty such stories--tales of motorcycle hunting dreams come true. From Ducatis in basements to Vincents abandoned in sheds, Harleys in barns ...

In this adventure motorsports memoir, the first Canadian motorcycle racer to complete the infamous Paris-Dakar Rally recounts his incredible journey.The Paris-Dakar Rally is is without question the most arduous and notorious off-road motorsports event on the planet. Since its inception in 1979, it has attracted more than three thousand adventurers from all walks of life. The men and women who have taken up the "Dakar challenge" have at least one thing in common: a ...

In the 60's, Carlos Caggiani traveled to 26 countries on an old motorcycle with hardly a penny to his name. He suffered famine, intense weather, was chased by the FBI, was shot at in Bolivia, and even survived a serious accident. The experiences in this book demonstrate a human being's tenacity and triumph in the face of adversity.

“Pierson is an even better writer than she is a rider.”—Boston Globe“World’s Toughest Motorcycle Riders”—long-distance motorcycling is not a pastime but an obsession. In this candid, eloquent, sharply observed book, Melissa Holbrook Pierson introduces us to this strange endeavor and the men and women who live to ride impossibly long distances, eating up road, almost without cease. And who find it nothing but fun.Perhaps the most determined of them is John Ryan, a m...

“The longest, most difficult, and most perilous motorcycle journey ever attempted.” The Bicycling World and Motorcycle Review “Anyone who desires to diverge from the beaten path and visit points that may be of peculiar interest to him personally, the motorcycle is undoubted the only satisfactory means of travel.” Syracuse Herald “One must die sometime and to die with one’s boots on is very noble.” Carl Stearns Clancy while riding his motorcycle at night in Spain, 1913. This travelogue orig...

Reviews: "Tom Cotter's sequel to last year's best-selling The Cobra in the Barn relays one great tale after another, with players unearthing rare cars to die for. The treasures include an armored Mercedes-Benz Aktion P command car discovered in pieces in Russia, a desirable Dodge Daytona Hemi virtually abandoned behind bushes in a guy's yard, a bushel of Bugattis in a barn, the 'Divorcee Cobra,' and a GTO owned by a mobster. These are great stories about great cars." - Edmunds.com "The boo...

11,260 miles, 25 days, 5 bears, 4 tires, 3 close encounters, 2 oil changes, 2x out of gas, 1 crash, 1 fire, 1 blizzard, 1 dog fight, 1 thousand mile day, and 1 conversation with God! "Alaska by Motorcycle – are you sure you know what you are doing?" is the story of one man's experience braving the unknown on a motorcycle journey into the remote regions of the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Alaska. With many years of motorcycling experience but new to long distance Adventure Touring,...

"It is my wish that this story will inspire you to live your dream, whatever that may be."In the summer of 2001, at fifty-three years old, Doris Maron sold everything she owned, except her motorcycle and a few personal belongings, to live a dream. On August 4 of that year, Maron left Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on her 750cc Honda Magna to begin her journey around the world. Over the next two years and eleven months, she traveled across forty-four countries on six continents. Traveli...

Charley Boorman is back on his bike exploring the world's second largest country - home to some of the most stunning and challenging terrain known to man.Canada is a country of extremes, and Charley knows all about pushing the limits. He goes dirt biking in New Brunswick, dives through old shipwrecks in Tobermory and rides along Butch Cassidy's old Outlaw Trail. He also meets a fascinating mix of people on his journey. As he heads across Canada, he plays ice hockey with a legend of...