Books related to Motorcycles: The Good and the Bad
These are my suggestions for motorcycle related books based on my experiences. I listen to books almost exclusively on Audible, find it much easier than reading.
Good, in decreasing order of goodness (my opinion):
1. Road Racer by Michael Dunlop:
One hell of a book, punches you straight in the nose from page 1 with emotion and intensity. Can be considered to be a short history of road racing, since the Dunlop family has been such an important part of it for so long. Highly recommended read.
2. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson:
Not completely a motorcycle related book, but by gawd could this man write. A beautiful, hilarious, creepy story that makes you consider a career in drugs, and maybe writing.
3. Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon:
Extremely popular, and for good reason. Written in stereotypically understated British style, it is probably the most "normal" book in this list. The story begins in India, which is a bonus.
4. 5. 6. 7. Into Africa, Under Asian Skies, Distant Suns, Tortillas to Totems by Sam Manicom
The man can write, and ride. I doubt there's any corner of the world he hasn't been to. These 4 books are full of lovely stories, but the main reason I like his stuff is because he narrates his own books. There's a special charm in that, and it's quite rare.
8. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
A weird mixture of philosophy, mechanics, and touring, interspaced by silly words like "chautauquas" said over and over again. I don't know why people like it, I don't know why I liked it myself, I guess you gotta read it to find out.
9. Built for Speed by John McGuinness:
The rare book that I read in print. I was lucky enough to be at the 2017 Isle of Man TT, and there John McGuinness himself signed my copy. It's a great book, with many situations that I as an Indian dude found very strange.
10. Guy Martin by Guy Martin:
It's a good book, but the problem is that Guy Martin has risen so far above the level of a normal human being, that it's difficult to relate to him. Sure he says that he's just a truck mechanic, but the life experiences he has had till now are just so far out of a normal person's capabilities that by the end of the book I just felt jealous and puny. Not Guy's fault of course, but the dude has just too much goddamn energy.
11. Conquering the Iron Giant by Graham Jarvis:
Relatively rare book about life in the off-road world, Graham Jarvis is a legend, and I was expecting a bit more from the book. But in the end, as Graham himself points out quite often, he's just a very introverted guy who rarely got into any sort of trouble. It's a lovely read in any case, especially if you want to get into serious off-road riding. Just not comparable to some of the other more exciting stuff out there.
12. In Search of Greener Grass by Graham Field:
When I was on Facebook, Graham Field was one of my friends there. It's a weird feeling to be friends with a published author, at least for me, so I read it. It's good, but somehow I never connected with it, perhaps because he's a music festival kinda guy and I'm not.
Bad:
1. Never Say Never by Nick Harris:
Anyone into MotoGP would know who Nick Harris is, the legendary commentator who was the voice of MotoGP for years. I had expected some inside stories, fun stuff from a man who was deep within the sport for so many years, especially because it says so on the cover. However, this book is perhaps the most boring piece of "literature" I've ever read. I didn't even make it past the halfway mark, the man just drones on and on about each individual race result from freaking 1949 or something all the way till today. Why in hell would I want to know who won the Assen TT in 1959? Huge, spectacular disappointment.
2. Hell's Angel by Sonny Barger:
Buying this was my mistake. I had expected that the man who started Hell's Angel would be cool, self-aware, might even be funny. I had not expected that he takes his own stupid slogans and patches and idiocy quite seriously. It's the story of an illiterate, delusional, silly little manchild who believes his own propaganda, and genuinely thinks that riding a motorcycle with a horde of other like-minded idiots somehow makes him a superior human being. He's what would happen if
"I was born in a middle-class family. My Bullet made me Royal" was a person. Avoid like the plague.
If anyone has suggestions of their own for motorcycle related books, let me know!
P.S. I have read Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara, but didn't include it in this list because it's too much of a cliché by this point. Everybody's read it in any case.