Reviews of the René Herse Book
The René Herse book has been in circulation for a few months, both in the English and the French editions. The best part of writing the book has been the great feedback from our readers. It’s nice to see that the book appeals to so many different cyclists.
The surviving riders who rode on the Herse team (above) are ecstatic – this is, after all, their story – but even so, it was gratifying to see their smiles as they paged through the book and remembered rides and adventures that happened long ago.
Even more enjoyable is the reaction of readers who did not know much about René Herse before picking up the book. Mike Deme is the editor of Adventure Cyclist:
“I just wanted to drop a note to say how impressed we are with this book. Really fantastic. The photos are terrific and the words are interesting. We’ve got it on the meeting table in our creative studio and people keep hovering around it. Great stuff!”
Constance Winters publishes the popular Lovely Bicycle blog. She had this to say:
“I am stunned by the Rene Herse book. I cannot put it down. This book is much more than I expected. The amount of work you must have done to do this research and put together this narrative, with all the photos and illustrations… Just amazing.”
I was anticipating Dale Brown’s reaction with suspense. As the editor of the Classic Rendezvous web site, his love is for all things Campagnolo, yet the René Herse book shows a totally different world of classic bikes. I guess I needn’t have worried:
“This book is HUGE. Amazing”
Grant Petersen, the founder of Rivendell Bicycle Works, wrote a whole blog entry about the book:
“Wow, what a book! René Herse is an educational, attitude-changing, enlightening, fascinating, detailed testament to the man who contributed more useful beauty to bicycles than anybody else.”
Click here to read Grant’s full review in his own engaging voice.
And then there is a friend’s wife – not a cyclist herself – who told me that she loved looking at the photos, especially of the neat clothes the cyclotourists wore.
When I started this project, I wanted to write a book that appeals to all cyclists, not just fans of René Herse or collectors of classic bikes. In the end, I cannot take much credit – the story and the photos are so amazing that it wasn’t hard to make a compelling book out of it. Even so, I am glad to have achieved my goal. The story of René Herse and his riders is full of joy, friendship, wonderful rides and great bikes. I hope it will inspire future generations of cyclists.
Click here to find out more about the book or order your copy.
René Herse also is available in a French edition.
