I found this Book, copyrighted in 1997, in a used bookstore on the quite dusty, bottom shelf of the transportation section sandwiched between a book on London busses and another on 1960 airliners. How could I not purchase a book about motorcycles titled The Perfect Vehicle?
“The Perfect Vehicle” by Melissa Holbrook Pierson caused some struggles within as I read and now write about this book. Overall, I enjoyed and even related to stories of discovering and exploring motorcycling. Her infatuation with Moto Guzzi and the work to maintain it in operational conditions mirrors many of us and our experiences.
Her descriptions of riding to Laconia motorcycle rallies or traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway were fun to read. As was her trip to Europe and riding on a borrowed Moto Guzzi. She related both the tribulations and the exhilaration of motorcycling.
My problem is that either I have overlayed modern context on a book from the late 1990s or Ms. Pierson seem to be biased. At times I felt condensation for those things that are not of New York City or European. That she would not approve of me or my choices because I did not fit a particular mold/view.
Like I said maybe I am projecting or maybe I am not, I will never know. However, I enjoyed the book well enough to give it 4 out of 5 stars. If you find the book, it is worth the read, and I would like to see your thoughts.
